Exposure - A Life is Strange Fanfic
by Lt.Hanz
Summary: Max Caulfield has returned to her home-town of Arcadia Bay, Oregon after five years of absence. She came back to finish her studies under the tutelage of the world renowned Mark Jefferson and, most importantly, to reunite with her best friend, Chloe Price. Unfortunately, fate is cruel. Tragedy has struck. Mark Jefferson has vanished and her former best friend, the only person that
1. Chapter 1

"Holy shit, that concert was amazeballs!" Chloe cried out with excitement as she practically pranced ahead of her three friends.

"Sabaton is hella' awesome. That winged Hussars song kicked ass!" Rachel added in, her smooth voice much louder than usual. The girl's long blonde hair flew majestically through the air as she nimbly moved to catch up to Chloe. Kevin found himself so enchanted by the scene that he forgot about how deaf he was. There was no denying how god damned attractive Rachel Amber was.

All too used to all kinds of attention, Rachel noticed his stare and cast him a playful wink before setting her sights back on Chloe. The embarrassment of the moment thrust Kevin back to reality. Rachel and Chloe were definitely a 'thing', and even if they weren't, he had no chance with a girl like Rachel, none at all.

Luckily, Chloe hadn't noticed his lingering stare. She was very much the jealous type. The hot jealous type, to be specific. Chloe was, for lack of a better word, a punk. She wore almost exclusively black, badass leather boots, had her hair dyed bright blue, and wore a black beanie like an extension of herself. She was so badass that her necklace had three rifle-caliber bullets on it instead of a charm.

So hot.

Not Rachel Amber hot, but hot all the same. Especially when Chloe Price wore her customary shit-eating-grin, which was most of the time.

"Dude, whatever the fuck a 'Winged Hussar' is, I fucking want one!" Chloe exclaimed with a shout. Her face lit up with excitement as Rachel drew closer to her, the mutual attraction impossible to miss.

"The Winged Hussars were Polish Cavalry—" Kevin's history lesson was cut short when Chloe turned on him, a mask of confusion spreading across her face.

"Wait, fucking horses?" Had Chloe not heard him? She and Rachel _had_ been much closer to the speakers during the concert than he and… _shit, where's Max?_

Kevin discovered Max lagging in the rear, her existence almost entirely unnoticeable due to her reserved and withdrawn presence. Breathing a sigh of relief, Kevin turned back to Chloe, resuming his explanation. "Yes, that's what cavalry are—"

"Then why the shit did they have wings?" Chloe's confusion quickly turned to annoyance as Kevin sighed deeply with frustration, his ears popping as he did so. Luckily for him, Rachel's musical laughter vanquished the brewing storm of Chloe's well-known ire.

"For decoration, silly." Rachel's simple explanation satisfied both parties, dispelling hostilities before they had a chance to erupt. Chloe rolled her eyes in Rachel's direction and grimaced. Her displeasure quickly vanished when Rachel practically threw herself at her paramour. Chloe deftly checked Rachel's rapid advance, bringing her into a warm embrace.

Kevin looked away, sure that he was blushing awkwardly. It wasn't that he was bothered by the two girls' display of affection, far from it. He simply didn't know what to do in situations such as this; girls were a mystery to him. Turning away from his companions, he noticed that Max had mimicked his hurried maneuver, her freckled face just as flushed as his probably was.

Max Caulfied was the 'new girl'. She had apparently lived in Arcadia Bay years ago and only just returned recently. And if Kevin understood the gossip, and he rarely did, she had been friends with Chloe Price long ago. Not that you would learn any of that from Max herself. She was the shyest, meekest person that Kevin had ever met. She was like him whenever he was around the adorable Kate Marsh, just all the time.

Kevin felt a wave of disappointment wash over his heart. He had invited Kate to the concert, but she had turned him down, politely of course. She had cited a myriad of entirely logical and believable excuses for her inability to accompany him, but they had crushed him all the same. Kate was way too down lately. He had thought, the moron he was, that Kate would have relished the chance to go to a concert to unwind a little, to get away from the stress of Blackwell Academy.

 _Why did I even bother to ask her? Of course, she said no…_

"You okay?" Max's tiny, nearly inaudible voice broke Kevin away from his abusive thoughts. Her soft voice was hard enough to hear on a normal day, harder still through his still ringing ears. Luckily, even after a metal concert, his hearing was better than most.

"Yeah, totally! No worries!" Kevin's sudden enthusiasm did little to dispel the shroud of doubt plaguing Max's, admittedly cute, freckled face. If the she didn't spend her time hiding behind her light-brown hair and smiled once in a while, Kevin might have even called her pretty.

Kate was pretty.

"Oh… sorry." Max withdrew, retreating back inside the palpable mental shell that she projected around her petite form, protecting her from the world. Kevin mentally cursed and chastised himself for allowing his thoughts to wander to Kate in the presence of his date.

Max _was_ his date tonight, right?

Was this a date?

Chloe and Rachel were most definitely treating tonight as a date, _that_ was obvious. And Max had hung alarmingly close to him during the concert instead of joining Chloe and Rachel in the mosh pit. Not that he blamed her for not joining her friends. Sabaton fans weren't an overly rowdy bunch, but that mosh pit had seemed pretty intense. Definitely not a place for the mousy and frail Max Caulfield.

Were Max, Chloe, and Rachel friends? They had to be… Max had been Chloe's best friend years ago, or something like that, so they had to be, right?

Either way, date or not, Kevin was being a rude asshole for letting his thoughts drift to Kate while Max was his companion for the night.

"Don't be sorry, Max. That's my job as a Canadian. You don't have anything to apologize for anyway!" Kevin's words fell on deaf ears, possibly quite literally. Max simply shrugged to show that she had heard him, thrusting her tiny hands into gray hoodies pockets as she did so. Withdrawing entirely.

 _Shit… Canada jokes aren't working… What am I supposed to do now?_

"Come on, you slowpokes!" Chloe yelled at the top of her lungs from far ahead. "Quit making out and catch the fuck up!" Chloe's unexpected words brought the fiery red tides of embarrassment crashing back to the surface. Kevin felt his face burn brighter than the damned sun, burning even brighter when he noticed a similar reaction on Max's face. The awkward pair hasted their stride as they made a desperate attempt to catch up to Chloe and Rachel. Neither spoke, nor dared to look at the other again.

* * *

Max's favorite part of the day was about to start. Her photography class was minutes away from beginning. Not that she would be able to hear much of the lesson today, her ears had barely recovered from the beating that Sabaton had forced upon them the previous night.

Why had she gone to that stupid concert anyway?

Dumb question, Chloe had gone. So, of course she had tagged along.

Slumping in her seat at the back of the half-empty classroom, Max felt her heart grow heavy. Max had made the uncharacteristically bold decision of returning to Arcadia Bay to finish her studies at Blackwell Academy just two weeks ago. Being home was somewhat refreshing. Being entirely free of her parents was a pleasant experience as well. But, as usual, fate had done its best to sour the good things in life.

Mark Jefferson, the primary reason why Max had chosen to attend Blackwell Academy to finish her studies, was _not_ her teacher. It had been advertised that he was heading the new photography program at the illustrious institution, but fate was a cruel mistress. Mark Jefferson had apparently vanished. The story was still somewhat big in the news, even weeks after his disappearance.

Max had been a huge fan of his. The man's work was incredible, renowned within the world of photography. Now, to Max's unending disappointment, the world would never again be captured through the lens of a camera held by Mark Jefferson… if the rumors were true.

The investigation into his disappearance had ceased when evidence had turned up that he was dead. Whatever information that had been found hadn't been released to the public yet, but Max felt like it was true. It had to be true. Fate hated her enough to make it true.

Mr. Hans, an aging war veteran, who was a somewhat famous military photographer, was her teacher, instead of the world-famous Mark Jefferson. As the grim-looking man strode into the room, the already quiet room grew eerily silent. The old soldier grunted a greeting to the assembled students, glared at his watch menacingly, double checked the time with the room's clock, and thrust himself moodily into his chair at the front of the classroom. Max looked too. Mr. Hans had arrived precisely two minutes before the beginning of class, just as he always did.

Max's sorrows grew as she inspected the rough-looking man. A white beard covered most of his face, while a thin, graying mustache accented his thick upper lip. The man wore a pair of dark-green slacks and a faded, patched, equally green jacket that was almost buttoned up all the way, partially revealing a white undershirt. His shiny black boots and his black beret were the only items of his attire that looked well-kept, unlike the man himself.

Suddenly aware that he was being observed, Mr. Hans's hard gaze struck Max like a lightning bolt. Jolted by the intensity of his crystal blue eyes, Max hurriedly looked away, becoming keenly interested in her personal items strewn about her desk. Mr. Hans must have looked away, because Max felt like she could breathe again.

Collecting her thoughts, Max felt her heart sink further than it had before, her daily ritual of disappointment reminding her that Mark Jefferson's absence wasn't the most disheartening part of her return home.

Chloe Price was.

Chloe, Max's former best friend, the one person in the entire world that she had ever made a connection with, had a _new_ best friend. A _better_ best friend, in every way possible.

Rachel Amber was the most popular girl in the entire school. She was pretty, really pretty, impossibly beautiful, frustratingly gorgeous. She was almost universally liked, adored by all, smart, witty, outgoing, the polar opposite of Max in every way possible. Things got worse though, Chloe and Rachel were… a thing… or something.

Max hadn't been bothered with the rumors around school before last night. Now, Max felt the truth of the rumors deep inside of her gut. Strangely, the feeling hurt. A burrowing sensation of dread had been forcing its way around her bowels ever since she saw the pair sneak a quick kiss the previous night. Ever since that moment, Max had been fighting back a panic attack. Her woefully inadequate amount of sleep last night had done little to soothe her unraveling nerves.

The abrupt, loud shriek of the class bell nearly knocked Max out of her seat, wrenching her back to reality. Kevin came barreling into the room at the last second. Max found herself glaring at him as he made his way to his seat.

"Cutting it damned close, Mr. Anderson!" Mr. Hans growled irritably from his desk, spearing the now seated Kevin with his deadly gaze.

"I'm sorry, Professor Hans—" Kevin blurted out, but his words were instantly cut off.

"How many times do I have to tell you kids not to call me that. It's Gerrard, or Mr. Hans, if you can't manage that simple task… and don't apologize like a damned fool either! Now sit up straight and pay attention. Not one more peep out of you, understand? We've already wasted enough time on your tardiness, Mr. Anderson."

Kevin's posture, which was already ruler straight, somehow became straighter. Max was almost certain that she saw the hairs on the back of his neck go just as rigid. Max's anger towards her classmate vaporized, leaving a feeling of empty regret in its wake.

It wasn't Kevin's fault, he was kind and sweet. Sometimes irritably so, but still, he wasn't to blame for her current situation.

She was.

Roughly five years ago, Max's parents had dragged her away from her best friend in the entire world. Max's father had been given an amazing job in Seattle, but the timing had been awful. Chloe's father, William, a hero to Max, died in a car accident a few days before Max and her family were scheduled to leave for their new life in Seattle. Chloe lost her father, and then she lost her best friend.

To make things even worse, because that's what Max was good at doing, she had done a terrible job at keeping in touch with Chloe. Max wanted to explain, needed Chloe to understand why it had been so hard, but it was too late now. After that first missed text, that first forgotten phone call, a supernatural entity of shame had been born. With each failed long-distance rendezvous, it had grown, festered, feeding on Max's ineptitude. Max had tried to fight it, but the creature proved too strong, too consuming. In the end Max did the only thing that she had the strength to do, she gave up the struggle.

Chloe never left her thoughts during those years, but neither did the oppressive beast forcing them apart. Max had been so worried when she ran into Chloe on her first day at Blackwell that she nearly died of fright. She had expected that Chloe to be furious as her, and rightfully so. But she hadn't been. It had taken a few moments, but once the pair recognized one another, the beast within Max's thoughts shattered, defeated in an instant.

Unfortunately, just as the perfection of the reunion was reaching its crescendo, Rachel Amber eclipsed the light of the universe. Max picked up on Chloe's body language immediately, noticed how the pair gravitated towards one another, caught onto the way Chloe looked at Rachel. Five years ago, Chloe had looked at Max that way. Now all Chloe saw was a ghost from the past, a stranger. Max was certain of this.

Max had lost Chloe, and it was all her fault.

* * *

Drama class with Rachel was awesome. Rachel _was_ awesome. Everything was awesome.

Chloe sighed impatiently as she repositioned herself against the wall in which she was slumped against outside the dressing room. Rachel always took forever.

Not everything was awesome, Chloe had to admit, but it didn't seem to matter when she was with Rachel. Her step-dad was still a step-douche, he probably always would be. School still sucked hard, except for drama and her science classes. Rachel's dad was still a lying scumbag. Arcadia Bay was still a giant stain on the map, and yet, Chloe and Rachel still hadn't left. There had been several false starts to their escape. Each time they would steel their resolve and prepare to set off into the sunset, only to back out at the last minute.

They still talked about escaping, just later, always later. It didn't really matter when, so long as they left together. As Chloe's thoughts wandered, she counted the pencils that were lodged into the ceiling at the far corner of the room. Were there more today, or less? This was Chloe's daily ritual. As she waited for Rachel to get her skinny, yet beautiful, ass back into her tight jeans, she counted pencils. And her mind meandered aimlessly.

Max was back. This was still a shock to her. Max was actually back. The ghost of her past had finally materialized into something real, something concrete. It had been weird at first, hell, it was still kind of weird. Chloe had wanted to yell and scream when she saw the mousy little girl for the first time in five years, either that or run and hide. Thank God for Rachel.

Rachel always knew what to do. While Chloe had stood there, paralyzed with indecision, Rachel had shoved her into movement. Rachel knew who Max was, knew who she had been. She knew of Chloe's anger towards her old friend, knew of the abandonment, even shared in the bitterness. But Rachel was perfect. She forgot all of that the day that Max had suddenly reappeared. Rachel had greeted Max like an old friend, the way Chloe should have done. Taking Rachel's lead, Chloe remembered how to be a human being and everything was now history.

Max was back.

The anger was still there, somewhere deep inside, but Chloe saw no need for it, so she ignored it. Max had always been shy as a kid, but it seemed that her time in Seattle had only made this worse. As far as Chloe could tell, Max wasn't making friends that quickly, even with Rachel's help. Rachel was friends with damn near everybody, even the stuck up spoiled rich kids like Nathan and Victoria. Rachel and Chloe had introduced Max to the nerdy gamers like Steph and Mikey, the artsy photography quacks like Evan and Kate, the book-worms like Alyssa and Samantha, and even Justin's skater posse. Nothing seemed to stick. That was until Kevin and Warren came along.

Chloe thought that Max would get along with the board gaming nerds, they were right up her alley! Steph and Mikey adored her too. However, it was the science nerd Warren, and his gaming buddy Kevin that Max seemed to warm up the most to. Well, they warmed to her or something, whatever, so long as she was making friends. But again, it was thanks to Rachel.

Rachel, bless her heart, had caught Kevin in the act of damn near proposing to Kate Marsh, and getting shot down. Rachel, with Chloe forcibly in tow, had expressed interest in Kevin's little concert. At the time, Chloe had groaned, the joke was on her though. Sabaton fucking rocked last night!

Kevin had politely responded, like the Canadian he is, that he only had one ticket. Rachel was already two steps ahead of him though. She was always two steps ahead of everyone. Except for Chloe, she was only one step ahead of her thank-you-very-much. Rachel had draped her slender arm around Kevin's shoulder and led the near terrified boy down the hall towards Max's locker and damn near shoved him at her. Somehow, disaster hadn't struck. Max had said yes, but only after catching on to the fact that Rachel and Chloe were going as well.

Chloe hadn't missed that little detail.

She also hadn't missed the look on Max's face when Rachel had kissed her.

What the hell was up with that?

Chloe wasn't sure, but it made her a little angry, but only a little, and only for a moment. Rachel was done changing, and, as usual, she looked fabulous.

* * *

The bell rang, releasing the students from their seats. As Kevin's classmates filed out of the room, he remained seated. Kevin was just as eager as the rest of his peers to flee the presence of the gruff Mr. Hans, he just had something else on his mind.

He had a plan.

A bold plan, a cunning plan, the best plan.

Turning to his right, he cast a quick glance over his shoulder.

The plan was ruined.

Not only had Kate seen him turning to look at her, but she and Max were talking. Worse, they were talking about him… they had to be!

 _Abort!_

Kevin shot to his feet, hastily gathered his belongings, and bolted for the door. He didn't make it far.

"Mr. Anderson! Desk, now!"

Wincing at his teachers' words, Kevin spun on his heels. Not daring to glance at Kate again throughout the maneuver.

"Yes, Prof— Mr. Hans?" Kevin's late correction rewarded him with a stern glare, a silent, yet all too proficient reprimand.

"I suppose I should be thankful that you at least show some aptitude in learning… Now, about your tardiness—"

"It won't happen again, sir."

"See that it doesn't… and quit calling me sir while I'm still in a good mood," Mr. Hans said with a second glare. "Now get out of my sight before you say anything else that I'll regret."

Too afraid to say speak, lest he dig himself into a deeper hole than he was already in, Kevin turned and bolted for the safety of the door. He felt Kate's eyes on him the entire way.

* * *

Kate squeezed Max's hands and leaned in closer to the anxiety ridden girl. Lowering her voice so that the few people left in the classroom wouldn't hear her words, Kate smiled warmly at the freckled girl.

"Max, is everything okay?"

"I'm fine, Kate." Max answered hastily.

"Max… I know that we've only been friends for a short while, but you can tell me anything. It will stay between us. I'm not one to gossip, you know this." Kate's heart grew sad as Max forced a thin smile across her lips. Keeping her own smile as bright as possible, Kate continued to press Max. The poor girl was suffering, she could see it, feel it. Max was a gentle soul, and even though Kate knew that Max would never ask for help, she was going to get it.

"Come to me all—" Too far, Kate knew she had pressed Max too far. Even before Max withdrew her hands and stood.

"Kate, I have to go… I'll catch up with you later… sorry I'm bailing on our tea date… next time." Max's hurried words pained Kate further, but she didn't hold anything against Max. Most people, Kate had found, in their times of greatest need, often retreated into themselves instead of reaching out.

Watching Max go was hard, yet necessary. The girl would come to her when the time was right, and her need was great. Kate's knowledge of this didn't make her feel any comfort. It was hard to watch anyone suffer, especially someone as sweet as Max.

A flash of movement caught Kate's attention as someone dashed to the door at the front of the classroom. Smiling, she stood, Mr. Hans had certainly put the fear of God in someone today. Wondering who his latest victim had been, she approached her teacher, smiling warmly as he turned her way.

"Ah, Ms. Marsh, how's the flock today?"

"Troubled," Kate admitted with a heavy sigh, her smile waning.

"Cheer up, kid. You can't save everybody, so stop trying. It's a damn miracle you sorted Ms. Chase out the other day. Don't expect lightning to strike twice so soon." Her teacher shot a grim smile her way as he leaned forward in his chair, his elbows resting firmly on his desk.

 _Victoria_ … Kate would never have guessed that anyone else that walked the earth would prove to be more difficult to reach than her, but it seemed like Max may yet prove her wrong.

"I appreciate your advice, as I always do, but I must try. Doing nothing… would be wrong." Her words received a stiff shrug, but Kate could tell that her teacher was chewing on his words. She waited patiently.

"Advice, eh? Well here's some more… During the war, I saw a lot of people wearing that same look that little Miss Caulfield was wearing as she slinked out of here. That girl is a ticking time bomb. Don't be next to her when she goes off. You hear me? I'll sort everything out, don't you worry."

Kate felt her spirits lift immeasurably, the sage veteran would most certainly be able to get through to Max if she couldn't

"Really?" She was so caught up in the moment that she only managed the one word.

"Yeah, I'll let Principle Wells know first chance I—"

"You can't!" Kate blurted out, surprising both herself and her teacher.

"Miss Marsh… it's been a long damned time since _anyone_ has told me that I can't do something… but since it's _you_ … I'll humor you. Go on, why can't I?" Leaning back in his chair, Mr. Hans folded his arms across his chest. It took a few moments for Kate to collect herself, that had been so out of character for her! She was certainly lucky that Mr. Hans treated her far better than he did most everyone else.

"I'm worried that she won't respond well to that. Right now, she needs a _friend_ , a kindred spirit, a companion, not an authority figure that will misunderstand her and view her as a statistic," she said, pouring her heart and soul into her words.

"Alright, damn it, alright. Just don't go getting down on yourself when this whole crusade of yours explodes in your face… or when I say 'I told you so,' because I damned well will."

Kate sighed with relief and excused herself.

There was no time to waste.

Unfortunately, she hadn't the first clue on where to start. Biting her lower lip in frustration, Kate checked the time. Max would have to wait. Victoria was supposed to be stopping by her dorm sometime soon.

* * *

Chloe, she needed Chloe.

Max's heart hammered away inside of her chest, or was it in her ears… or her throat?

It didn't matter where it was, it needed her best friend.

Max was so worked up, that she had forgotten to start her music. Upon leaving the classroom, she shoved in her earbuds and set off towards the drama wing of the school. Chloe might still be there if she hurried. As her messenger bag bounced around behind her, Max withdrew her phone from the pocket of her jeans and started her music.

'To All of You' by Syd Matters flooded into her awaiting ears. It's soothing guitar melody eased her frantic mind. When the lyrics started, however, Max hurriedly skipped the song. Now was _not_ the time to be listening to that song, not at all.

'Crosses' by Jose Gonzalez came on next. Poised to jump to the next song, Max relented. It was a sudden occurrence, but the song made her think of Kate, so she let it play. Max liked Kate. She was so sweet. She felt so bad for blowing her off like she did, but Max didn't want to do anything right now, be anywhere with anyone… other than Chloe.

Thoughts racing, Max hurried her way through the crowded half of Blackwell until her destination was in her sights: Mr. Keaton's drama class. Hoping that she hadn't already missed Chloe, Max rushed to the open door, and stopped.

Chloe was kissing Rachel. Not just a peck on the lips like the other night, no, this was something entirely different. The two girls were hungrily devouring each other's lips, desperately pouring their souls into one another. Chloe had Rachel pressed firmly up against the wall adjacent to the rear dressing room, entirely too preoccupied to notice Max watching her every move.

Max wanted to move, to run, to bolt, to hide from the nightmare before her, but she was frozen in place. Her chest ached, a pressure of staggering intensity weighed down upon her. Constricting and suffocating, it crushed her beneath an ocean of dread. The feeling only intensified as Rachel ran her fingers through Chloe's hair. Max could almost feel it herself, taste Chloe's lips, smell her the sweet sweat off her body.

The world came to a sudden halt when Rachel opened her eyes. Max could only see one of them, Chloe's head was blocking the other from view, but Rachel's one perfect eye saw Max. As Chloe withdrew from Rachel, Max saw a smile blossom across the girl's parted, flawless lips.

Max ran.

It hadn't been the look of pure ecstasy in Rachel's eye that had set her free from her invisible prison, nor the wicked smile that had formed on the girl's lips, it had been Chloe.

Chloe had started to turn.

What if Chloe had seen her? What would she have done? Would she have been angry? Would she have cared at all? Was Rachel going to tell her? How would Chloe react? Why was everyone so… blurry?

 _No, no, no! Not here, not in front of everyone!_

Max tore through the halls, desperately trying to hold back her tears. The pain in her chest ravaged her, stealing her breath away. Once Max was outside, the air around her felt less heavy, less oppressive. The enchanting September morning brought her a brief respite. Slowing her pace, Max found that it was easier to breathe now that she was free of the constricting hallways of Blackwell. As Max walked, a burning sensation began to nip at her heels. Moving faster, Max tried to flee from it. As she steadily approached the dorms, the sensation spread.

Struggling with effort, Max opened the heavy door on the outside of her dorm building, only now realizing how weak she felt. She was so close, her dorm was just up the stairs. Crowded, the halls were too crowded. Even the stairwell offered her little respite. The stares, she couldn't stand them, people _had_ to be staring. Max could clearly see the taunting looks surrounding her, even though she was blinded by tears.

Her door was just too far away, the hall kept getting longer. Longer and unstable. The icy fingers of fear clutched at Max's chest. She wasn't going to make it.

A soft melody tore through her fugue, lending her strength.

 _Kate!_

The girl's door was slightly ajar, leaking out the sweet melodies of her violin to the world. Kate's room was miles closer to Max than her own room. The hallway shortened, and Max was now just outside Kate's room. All at once, Max was inside, sealing herself off from the rest of the world as she slammed the door behind her. The music stopped and Max heard Kate cry out in alarm as she sank to the floor. The tears flew forth on their accord. The tightness in her chest eased, if just barely. It felt good to give in. It was easier than trying to be strong.

Max felt a pair of arms wrap themselves around her. It felt good to be held, even though she knew it wasn't Chloe.

It probably never would be.


	2. Chapter 2

Rachel watched as Max took off, disappearing out of sight just before Chloe turned. Momentarily confused, Chloe stared at the empty doorway before speaking.

"Alright, I give up, who peeped and got a free show this time?"

Rachel smiled, her lover's voice was filled with pride. Even though they mostly tried to be sneaky about their steamy rendezvous, Chloe certainly enjoyed an audience.

"Sorry there, David Blaine, no audience for your magic tricks today." Rachel turned Chloe's face back towards her, planting a final, passionate kiss on her eagerly awaiting lips. "Though… perhaps we should close the door next time. I know you like to put on a show and everything—"

"Whoa, hey, Mr. Keaton has no right to be mad. We are _not_ in the dressing room this time. And we have _way_ more clothes on ..." Chloe's words brought a smile to Rachel's face. _That_ was a good memory

It didn't matter that Mr. Keaton adored Rachel, Chloe too, his rules about fraternizing in the dressing room were very strict. Not even the heroic savior of the Tempest—the cynical, yet romantic Chloe Price—could get away with breaking them. Unfortunately for Mr. Keaton, breaking the rules was kind of Chloe's thing. Well… bending them, at the very least.

"Remember everyone, no fraternization of _any kind_ in the dressing room. No kissing, no sexual harassment and certainly no sex. You all have dorms for _that_." Rachel's impression of their teacher brought Chloe close to tears, her laughter echoing through the empty classroom. It took her some time to recover.

"Seriously though, no one saw us?" Chloe almost seemed worried, almost. Rachel shook her head, smiling as Chloe rolled her eyes.

"Lame." Chloe let out a dramatic sigh worthy of an Oscar nomination, her eyes feasting on Rachel's figure. Smiling, Rachel bit her lip. She loved it when Chloe looked at her like that. "I'm still hungry, and you have too many clothes on, hella' too many."

"Oh? Is that so?" Rachel asked, eyeing her lover mischievously. It was adorable how Chloe was using _her_ word now. Especially since she had originally mocked her for it when they had first met. "Your room or mine?"

"Whichever's closer," Chloe responded, drawing nearer. Her hot breath fanning across Rachel's neck, sending tingles of anticipation creeping into Rachel's chest.

"Mine then." As soon as Rachel's words left her mouth, Chloe was practically dragging her through the halls of Blackwell. Rachel tried to keep her giggling under control, but it was really, really hard.

Rachel's thoughts went back to Max. Rachel had always suspected that something was going on inside the shy introvert's head, and now she knew something was also going on inside of her heart. Even before she had met Max, Rachel surmised that the friendship between Max and Chloe had been too special to be just a simple innocent relationship.

The void that had been left in Chloe's life after Max had vanished had been too great, had taken far too long to heal, for anything less than love. Smiling sadly as she glanced at Chloe, she wondered if Chloe even knew. Max certainly did, at least _now_ she did. That look on her face, the terror in her eyes, _that_ was all the evidence Rachel needed to know the truth. Rachel mused with the idea of telling Chloe about it, but she shrugged off the idea. Chloe didn't need to know, not right now anyway.

Besides, it wasn't as if it was the first time Rachel had kept something from Chloe. None of that mattered though, Chloe was happy. Rachel was too, for the moment. She wasn't always happy with the state of her world, but she was now, especially _right now_.

The thought soured the dancing feelings of excitement that were fluttering around her stomach. It wasn't as if Rachel liked keeping secrets from Chloe, it was just better this way. Rachel had spent so much time, invested too much, in piecing the girl back together to allow _anything_ to compromise what she had done. Chloe's happiness was paramount. She would tell her the truth one day, another day… Always another day.

* * *

"Dude, sweet shot!" Warren's praise was not lost on Kevin. It certainly _had_ been a pretty awesome shot.

"Thanks bud— oh shit, left flank!" Quickly taking cover, Kevin reloaded his weapon and prepared to attack.

"Yeah I see them…" Warren responded with a sigh.

 _Oh shit, here it comes…_

"Dude… did you really _have_ to take Max with you to the Sabaton concert? _Max_. Of all the girls at school… and you took Max with you! Not cool, bro, not cool."

Kevin sighed as he peppered his targets with hastily aimed weapons fire. His concentration was too unfocused for accuracy right now.

 _Really, Warren? You bring up that now? While we're in the middle of our Legendary run? As if it wasn't hard enough!_

Warren and Kevin had been working their way through Halo 4 on the hardest difficulty for the past couple of days. The game was alright, nothing like its predecessors, but it was still fun. And challenging, at least on this difficulty. Now was not the time to be arguing over girls. Not that there was much of an argument to begin with.

"It wasn't a date! I asked Kate first and – shit, low shields, cover me – Max only came with me because Chloe and Rachel came too… I think." Kevin shook his head. Enemies were closing in from all sides now, things weren't looking good.

"Grenade!" Warren shouted, a little too loudly, causing Kevin to flinch.

The pair were seated on Warren's couch, hunched over, hands gripping their controllers tightly. Things were getting tense, both in game and inside the dorm room. An explosion ripped through several enemies, sending them ragdolling into the air. Normally the two would have whooped in joy, but things were far too serious in real life at the moment.

"Trust me, man. We didn't even hold hands or anything. We barely even spoke. I know it was stupid and I know how it looks, but you have to believe me… nothing is going on between us. She's still all yours." Kevin's shields finally restored, he jumped back into the fray, downing several enemies with his shotgun before he was forced to take cover.

"Alright, alright, relax big guy. It's cool." Warren sighed. A quick glance at Warren revealed that some of the tension had left his body. Not all of it though. The two of them were probably still about to die. The enemies just kept coming. "I'm just freaking about this movie that Max and I are going to this weekend—"

"Holy shit, she said yes? Awesome dude, congrats!" Kevin was so caught up in the moment that he almost didn't see the enemies flanking around his right. Relying entirely on his muscle memory, he switched to his battle rifle and swung towards his new targets, downing them with a few well-aimed bursts. Slowly exhaling a breath he hadn't known he was holding, Kevin cursed himself for his lack of focus.

 _Damnit, keep your head in the game… too bad Kate didn't say 'yes' to me…_

"Well… she hasn't yet… I mean I haven't asked her, but she will. She totally wants to go ape. I can feel it." Warren's words drew another sigh from Kevin.

"Go… ape? Do I even want to know?" he asked, dreading the answer.

Warren had a near death experience of his own as he turned to stare at his friend, his mouth ajar for a brief moment before his attention was wrenched back to the television screen.

"Planet of the Apes, man… Sheesh, how lame are you?"

 _Pretty freaking lame if you can convince Max to go see that movie and I can't even get Kate out to an awesome concert— "_ Dude, rocket launcher, grab the rocket launcher!"

"Hell yeah, we're in business now!" Warren cheered as he retrieved the weapon. Kevin's worries were now completely forgotten. The gaming gods were smiling upon them.

* * *

Max's desperate sobs refused to relent, and Kate's shoulder was damp from the girl's tears. It was okay though. Max needed this. She _really_ needed this. Humming softly, Kate held the crying girl close, tenderly running her fingers through Max's brown hair. Something major must have snapped within Max's life, something important, something close to her breaking heart. Max's entire body shook as she tried to choke back her anguish, bringing Kate's humming to a halt.

"Don't fight it, Max. Just let it all out. You're safe here with me." Kate's soothing words had an immediate effect on the grief-stricken girl. Tension flooded out of Max as she folded herself into Kate's comforting embrace. "Be at peace, Max. The light will guide you through these troubling times."

Throughout the next few minutes, Max's cries lost their edge, lessening in severity. Seeing that words were no longer necessary, Kate resumed her humming, the tune from her violin playing still rooted deeply within her mind. Max and Kate rocked back and forth in time with the music as Max's tears turned to quiet sniffles.

Soon, it would be time to discover the mystery behind Max's suffering. Soon it would be time to find the wound, and heal it. But not yet, Max's wavering strength was hanging on a knife's edge, too much pressure and she would be lost once more. Kate waited patiently, holding the grieving girl as she gently rocked back and forth. The two had shared the same space for so long that Max's scent entirely dominated Kate's senses.

Not that there was anything dominating about Max's aromatic aura. It was reserved, gentle, tentatively tickling Kate's awareness. Very much like Max herself. It was hard to place exactly _what_ Max smelled like though. Hidden somewhere beneath an inoffensive deodorant, generic laundry detergent, and some kind of body-wash, was Max.

Was that vanilla?

Unable to resist her curiosity, Kate immersed herself in Max's world, allowing every part of her to enter her soul.

Definitely vanilla.

A sudden knock at the door made Kate jolt in surprise, momentarily disturbing the recovering Max. Kate wondered who it could be, then her mind froze at the thought.

 _Oh shoot, Victoria!_

A brief and fleeting feeling of panic seized Kate's mind, but she thrust it away, banishing it from whence it came.

Victoria was only returning her book. The timing could have been better, but this wasn't the end of the world. Far from it actually, Kate _did_ need her book back. Victoria had promised to return it several days ago, but hadn't really made a serious effort.

"Max, I'll just be a moment. When I come back, we'll talk some more, okay?"

Max nodded, wiping at her face with the sleeves of her grey hoodie. It didn't matter that they hadn't actually done very much talking, but actions spoke louder than words. And Max's actions clearly screamed, 'help me.'

Remembering to discard her damp cardigan before heading to her door, Kate paused. Her outer layer now discarded, she felt perilously under-dressed. Her thin white blouse was sometimes see-through and her khaki pencil skirt felt like it was getting shorter. Sighing, Kate dismissed her fears. She had a tank top underneath her shirt, and people _had_ to be used to seeing her legs by now. Kate liked her legs, and she liked showing them off too. Her mother certainly wasn't around to shame her for it at the moment, even though the voice was still there.

Max picked herself up off the floor to make way for Kate, and carefully sat down on Kate's couch, glancing nervously at the door as she brought her knees up to her chest. Kate smiled at her reassuringly. Max smiled back, a thin, unsure, broken smile. Kate would have Max smile again, but not like that, never again like that. That was a travesty of a smile.

Opening her door a crack, Kate slipped out into the hallway, nearly bumping into Victoria as she did so. The short-haired blonde begrudgingly made room for Kate in the hall. Thankfully, it was empty. Kate felt as if she had gone into battle without her armor. Victoria wasn't much of a dragon to Kate now, but the girl still looked as if she wanted to be one.

Cheekily, Victoria was hiding something behind her back. Kate smiled. It _had_ to be her book. Though Victoria's theatrics were certainly unnecessary, Kate would admit that she was intrigued. She felt like a kid on Christmas morning, even though she had already peaked at her presents.

Whistling, Victoria eyed Kate up and down. "My, my, Kate… I think I can see your collarbone. Scandalous! And those legs, who are you trying to impress today?"

Kate's hands were at her neck in an instant, fingers detecting that the top two buttons of her blouse were undone. Doing her best to not let the embarrassment show, Kate rebuttoned her shirt.

"You're no fun," grumbled Victoria, giving Kate a searching look before she continued. "You don't have a guy in there, do you? What happened to pretty miss perfect and her abstinence campaign?"

"Victoria…"

"Relax, Jesus— sorry… Seriously, I'm only giving you shit." Victoria's eyes went to the floor. Either she was inspecting Kate's snow-white Keds or she really was sorry about her quip.

Suppressing her irritation, Kate took in Victoria's outfit with a glance. She was, as usual, very fashionably dressed, _expensively_ fashionably dressed. Even with their talks recently, Kate could see Victoria wasn't quite past her own insecurities, with her black cardigan buttoned all the way up and her legs entirely covered by pantyhose.

Victoria may walk the walk and talk the talk, but it was all a show. A show that was perhaps more evident than ever as she stood before her, shifting her weight uneasily from foot to foot under Kate's direct perusal. If Kate did nothing, the pair were liable to stand in the hallway for hours, or at least until someone interrupted their awkward gathering.

"Victoria, what's wrong?" asked Kate, her words bringing down Victoria's flimsy shield instantly with her gentle question.

"Marsh… I ruined your book."

Kate tried not to react, but she did.

Victoria glanced up from the floor just in time to see Kate's face and paled. That book _had_ been Kate's favorite… Worse, she needed it for a project. "Don't freak out! Look, I got you a new one!"

From behind her back, Victoria revealed, and practically shoved, an entirely different copy of 'The October Country' into Kate's hands. Kate was stunned. It wasn't _her_ copy. It had been the standard print. In her hands she held a much rarer copy. It was practically a collector's item!

"Victoria! I can't accept this! It has to be worth—"

"Marsh, you _will_ accept it. Your old one is literally covered in soda. It's the least I can do…"

"I… Thank you!" Overwhelmed with excitement, Kate flung her arms around the entirely unready girl before her.

"Whoa, careful! This thing cost a lot!" Victoria broke away from Kate, retreating from her enthusiasm. Victoria's face had regained some of its color, specifically shades of red.

"Sorry," Kate responded bashfully as she withdrew, "Thank you though, really, don't worry about it. This is an amazing gift."

"It's not a gift, okay? I ruined your shit so I had to replace it. Ugh, am I not allowed in your room anymore? Or do you actually have a guy in there?" responded Victoria as she glanced from her left to her right. Mercifully, the hallway was still empty.

Kate opened her mouth to retort, and paused. Could she tell Victoria who was inside her room, and why? Best not to. Even with the progress that Victoria had made recently, she was still the crowned 'drama queen' of Blackwell. Kate's hesitation seemed to bore Victoria, and she quickly filled the silence with the sound of her own voice.

"Fine, not a boy. _You_ wouldn't break that rule. Knowing my luck, you've got Max in session today. Taylor said she was walking around—" Victoria must have seen something change on Kate's face, because her eyes went wide, her mouth gaping, revealing perfectly white teeth. "Holy shit, it _is_ Max in there, isn't it? You probably took her in the moment you saw her! That's so you, Marsh! Oh, my, God, wait until I tell Taylor—"

"Victoria, _that_ would be very hurtful of you. We talked about this. You can't go around putting people down. It won't erase the hurt you feel. It will only make it worse when you alienate yourself from everyone else." Kate's stern voice slashed across Victoria's face like a whip. The girl was cowed instantly.

"I know, I know. I'm sorry…" Victoria heaved a heavy sigh, a gigantic weight shifting away from her as she did so. "I… won't tell anyone about it, okay? I'm – oh fuck it – I'm glad that you're helping her…"

Kate smiled. It was good to see this side of Victoria. It was hard to see sometimes, becasue she covered it so well. The girl spent her time hiding behind a wall of callousness and a thick fog of superiority. The fog was lifting, though not all at once, but a new day was dawning on Victoria. And from the look on her face, she knew she had Kate to thank for it.

"Thank you for respecting Max's privacy, and thank you for the book. I really do love it." Kate's words brought forth a nod and a hesitant smile from Victoria, then she turned to go, but stopped.

"Oh, hey Marsh, what are you doing tonight?"

Blinking, Kate took a moment to think. "Nothing, why?"

"Dinner?"

"Is Victoria Chase asking me out on a _date_?" Kate giggled as a look of frustration spread across Victoria's face.

"Oh, get over yourself… if you want to call it a date, _fine_. I just thought it would be nice to say a proper 'thank you', that's all."

"You already did, this book—"

"No! That book is because I trashed your other book. Dinner is for… the other thing. But if you're busy—"

"Dinner sounds lovely," Kate stated happily, catching Victoria off-guard once more.

"I'll text you the details. See you then?"

"Yes, see you then." Kate watched Victoria as she retreated back to her own dorm just down the hall. Exhaling heavily, Kate regarded her new book with barely contained joy—she really did love it. Another deep breath to compose herself, and she turned and reached for her door.

That had certainly been unexpected.

* * *

Chloe collapsed with exhaustion, returning to the comfort of Rachel's soft bed. Breathing heavily, she smiled. Her heart pounded, sending shockwaves throughout her entire trembling body. She was entirely content; her senses blissfully overwhelmed with Rachel. Closing her eyes, Chloe easily traced Rachel's body in her mind—she knew every curve, every detail. As Chloe greedily sucked in air, Rachel's sweet sweat mingled with the scent of jasmine consumed her. The effect was intoxicating, especially since the taste of Rachel's lips still lingered on Chloe's tongue.

Today couldn't get any better.

Opening her eyes, Chloe cast her gaze on her lover, and watched as Rachel's bare chest rose and fell almost in time with her own. Chloe's eyes wandered. Rachel's body was covered in sweat, just like her own, and her hair was a tangled mess—this was mostly Chloe's fault, mostly. Chloe sighed as she took in the sight of pure beauty before her. The moment, however, was ruined by a lingering feeling that was surfacing in the depths of her heart.

Rachel hadn't _really_ been in it today.

Chloe had tried, she always did, to make Rachel scream. She relished the awkward looks that Rachel's neighbors gave them later—she lived for that feeling of pride.

 _That's right, I did that._

Disappointingly, Rachel's moans were quiet today, certainly not loud enough to leave the room and invade everyone else's lives. And Chloe had tried, she had really, really tried. That's why she was so wiped out— _hella'_ wiped out.

Should she bring it up? Was something bothering Rachel?

If something _was_ bothering Rachel, she would bring it up or shout about it, that's what Rachel usually did. So, since Rachel wasn't bringing it up in her usual manner—the direct, sometimes explosive manner—Chloe was going to have to drag it out of her.

 _Wonderful._

Chloe had only done something like this once before, dragging something out of Rachel was akin to pushing a boulder uphill. Not that Chloe had ever done anything like _that_ before, she just knew it would be hella' difficult.

Moving closer to Rachel, Chloe snuggled up to her, their bodies both still sticky with sweat. She was warm, almost uncomfortably so, despite the chill bite of the air-conditioned room. Rachel sighed happily as Chloe's arms entwined her in a comforting hug, only to be cut short by Chloe's words.

"Something wrong, babe?"

Rachel paused before answering. The pause was far too long to be a normal pause, something _was_ wrong. Chloe could feel it.

"What?" Rachel's single word response was sparkling with surprise, but her body went stiff in Chloe's arms. Chloe's smile soured, something really was bothering Rachel. It was unlike Rachel to keep things locked inside like this.

"Come on, Rache. Talk to me, please." Chloe made sure to add a hint of a desperate whine to her voice, that would get Rachel talking. Pouty Chloe _always_ got what she wanted. Today was no different.

Rachel rolled to face Chloe, and immediately hid her face in Chloe's chest. Her response was muffled, but quite audible. "I'm sorry… it's just… my dad—" The mere mention of Rachel's father made Chloe's blood boil. The room was no longer soothingly cool.

"Do I need to tell that lying bastard off again? I will. I'll do it. Let's go do it _right now_." Chloe demonstrated her seriousness in the matter by moving to search for her clothes. Rachel, expecting this maneuver, held her in place. Rachel was freakishly strong when she wanted to be.

"No, as much fun as it was to watch the first time, please, leave it alone…" Rachel desperately held herself to Chloe, burrowing closer into her. Chloe's heart swelled. Holding Rachel tighter, she allowed her simmering rage to abate. "… let's just… can we just forget about it and lay here? _Please?_ "

Chloe sighed, Rachel was really upset about this. There was no way that Chloe could let this latest infraction slide. But what could she do? Rachel had her pinned in place, and she had said 'please'. There was nothing that Chloe could do. That was fine though, she hadn't wanted to go to her next class anyway. Mrs. Grant adored her and wouldn't mind. Not too much anyway.

* * *

Kevin fidgeted in his seat. His chemistry class was minutes away from starting, and yet, all he could think about was Kate. His mind needed to be clear so it could accept a tide of new information, but a plan to win Kate's affection dominated his focus. The classroom was slowly filling as the clock inexorably marched on towards the beginning of class.

It was stupid.

Not so long ago, in fact weeks ago, Kevin had been entirely content to block out the world and its trivialities. Back then, entirely different things had mattered to him, much more simple matters. Matters involving video games.

Now, it was almost as if he were walking on an alien world that was disturbingly similar to his former home. Everything was more or less the same in this new world, save for one crucial difference.

Kate.

Why her? What was so special about her? He wasn't religious, and she was. She wasn't preachy about it, but would she even be interested in someone who didn't look to God for… whatever it is that you look to him for? She _was_ very pretty though, and her smile was a treasure to behold. It was weird, most of the guys at Blackwell were busy fighting for the 'hot' girls like Victoria, Taylor, Dana and Juliet, and they seemed to entirely ignore Kate. Was it because she was super involved in things like her abstinence campaign or her bible study groups? It certainly couldn't be anything about her personality or her appearance. She was cute, sweet, and had a miracle of a laugh.

 _Damnit, that laugh!_

Kevin had only heard it once, and it hadn't been at a joke he had told, or heard for that matter. If he _had_ overheard the joke, he could have studied it and emulated it in a clever attempt to reproduce the truly magical result it had brought forth. He was usually quite witty and clever, funny from time to time, but not around Kate. Around her, he was a bumbling, incompetent, fool. She probably saw it too. How could she not?

It felt as if he needed Kate's attention to survive. She was the life-fuel for him in this new reality that he had suddenly found himself in. It didn't make any sense. Why couldn't it be another girl, or girls in general? What was it about Kate that made her so special? Why couldn't he just hide in his room and play video games like he had done in the past?

Luckily, he didn't share this class with Kate. If he did, he was entirely certain that getting her out of his mind would be impossible, instead of just nearly impossible. Kevin stared at the clock, his time was running out. The classroom was now mostly full, save for the latecomers. Only a few seats remained empty. Mrs. Grant was also looking at the clock. She seemed eager to start class. So eager, in fact, that she may just start today's lecture early.

 _Shit_.

Mrs. Grant was a great teacher. She made complicated things like chemistry, and the math that came with it, less of a drag. She was overweight and dark skinned, with a wide face that looked somewhat befuddled when it bore a neutral expression. Looks, however, were quite deceiving. Mrs. Grant was smart, wicked smart. Damn near everything that she chose to say seemed calculated and well thought out. She was perhaps the best teacher at Blackwell, at least, in Kevin's opinion. It was a pity she taught something that he was only mildly interested in.

Kevin was good at math, but that didn't mean he liked it. He wasn't like his friend Warren, who inhaled formulas and computations and exhaled things that actually made sense. Kevin's mind was geared for more interesting things. He liked solving problems, which sometimes involved understanding things like math and science. But what he really liked, where his passion lay most, was history. Abysmally, his History class wasn't until much later in the day, and he would have to survive chemistry first. And the endless problem of how to ask Kate out on a date. _That_ problem seemed entirely unsolvable. Math and science would certainly be of no help.

Kevin willed his mind away from Kate. It wasn't like he had a chance with her anyway. She had already turned him down once. She had been nice about it, but she wasn't interested in him at all. And just like that, with that line of thinking imprinted firmly in his mind, Kevin was free to think of other things. Unfortunately, the feelings of freedom did not bring him joy, instead darkness reigned. Kate would not be his. Something inside of him _really_ did not like that.

The class bell rang as the last of his peers scrambled to their seats. Mrs. Grant cleared her throat, signaling a new crisis within Kevin's mind. The way he saw it, he had a choice to make. He could either continue to wallow in misery with the certainty that Kate would never be his, _or_ he could hold onto his blind hope. One day, he might concoct the perfect plan to catch Kate's attention, to prove to her that he was the one for her.

It was an easy choice. Wallowing in misery wasn't very fun at all, he discovered that after giving into the feeling for about a minute. Unfortunately, as Mrs. Grant pushed herself out of her chair, Kevin realized that he was going to learn very little today. His brain was far too busy entertaining itself with the most important question he had ever tried to answer. And it had nothing to do with chemistry.

Mrs. Grant began the lecture without so much as a preamble. It was time to pay attention, or at least it was time to _try_ to pay attention. As the lecture progressed, Kevin's attention began to wander to the most important problem in the entire universe. Suddenly, and thankfully, something odd caught his attention. Chloe was absent.

 _That_ wasn't what was odd though _—_ Mrs. Grant usually made a big stink about the absence of one of her students. She hadn't said so much as a single word noting Chloe's absence. Shrugging, Kevin surmised that it probably had something to do with the fact that Chloe was demolishing the class so far. She had scored top marks on the first test. Kevin certainly hadn't expected Chloe, of all people, to be smarter than Warren, or to get better grades than him in a science class.

Casting a glance at Warren seated in the desk to his right, Kevin discovered that his friend was only half paying attention to the lecture. Perhaps that was why the shaggy haired genius had managed to miss a single, yet crucial, question on the last test. He had probably written _Max_ as the answer to a question instead of helium, or whatever. Kevin, on the other hand, felt as if he were in danger of writing Kate for every answer to everything for the rest of his life.

Shaking his head, he did his best to pay attention to Mrs. Grant.

* * *

Max watched as Kate quietly closed her door. The blonde girl's warm smile lit a spark of hope inside the darkest parts of Max's heart. Somehow, even though it made little sense, when Kate smiled at her, it felt as if everything might actually be okay. Only for a moment though, then the feeling would fade. All too quickly, the dreaded feelings of despair would return, constricting Max's thoughts as much as they did her chest.

Kate slowly crossed her room, aiming for the chair at her desk in the opposite corner of the room—not back to her two-seater couch where Max sat. Max's spirits dampened further. Even though being held by Chloe was what her heart desired most, the time she had spent in Kate's comforting embrace had been a much-needed relief. Would Kate return to her side if she asked? She probably would, right?

 _No_ , Max thought bitterly to herself. _Snap out of it! You can't continue carrying on like this. Get a grip, you're an adult now… or whatever._

Before sitting, Kate placed a book on her desk and moved her small, four-legged wooden desk chair across the room so that she could be closer to Max. Kate sat down, bringing her peaceful smile into Max's world once more. Max felt oddly uncomfortable and made a hurried attempt to cleanse her face of the half-dried tears. Sniffling as she dabbed at her face with the sleeves of her hoodie, Max flashed Kate an awkward smile.

"How are you feeling, Max? Better, I hope?" Kate's soft voice fluttered through the air like a butterfly in a calm breeze. Max felt safe, secure, and would have been entirely at peace if it weren't for the darkness lurking just outside of Kate's door. Kate sat almost in front of her window, enshrined in the soft afternoon light from outside. The light breeze from the open window toyed with stray strands of Kate's hair, which was always in a neat and efficient bun. The cool autumn air tickled Max's nostrils with its refreshing scents, mingling perfectly with a vague scent of cinnamon.

"Yeah… thanks. Sorry for… barging in like that…" Max's words clung to her throat, far too embarrassed with their owner to become part of reality willingly. Max wondered if Kate still had a bottle of wine stashed away somewhere in her room, _that_ would certainly loosen things up. Not that she, nor Kate, were the drinking type. Max just knew that Kate had it, being incredibly nosey when unattended had its perks.

"Max, please, my door was open for a reason, people are welcome in here anytime, especially you." Kate's smile erased Max's guilt and shame, casting them back to the darkness where they had spawned from. Despite this, Max couldn't help but feel that she was imposing on Kate's life, and that it was time to go.

"Thanks… I appreciate it, but I should really be going—" Max barely managed to force herself off of the couch before Kate stopped her.

"Max… I think we should talk about what's going on." Max swallowed hard. Kate's door seemed much farther away all of the sudden. "I'm worried about you."

"Worried? I've just been having a shitty day, that's all! No need to worry…" Max's words trailed off to a shaky whisper when she caught the serious look on Kate's face.

"Max, please, don't do this. Trust me when I say this. I'm not asking about your personal life because I'm nosey… I'm asking because I'm your friend. A friend who sees that you are hurting… a friend that wants to help."

"Do I have to…?" Max pleaded, casting a quick glance at the door. It still seemed perilously far away.

"You don't have to do anything. You are certainly free to tell me to 'mind my own business' and storm out of here. If you do choose to do that, just remember that I am here for you when you are ready."

There it was, Kate had given her an out, an escape. But what would that accomplish aside from hurting Kate's feelings. Which would be worse? Talking to Kate about the pain inside of her chest, the empty hole in her life, or turning her back on her friend? Both options seemed awful. Kate was so sweet, hurting her would be wrong, but coming up with the words to describe whatever was going on seemed impossible. Suddenly, Max realized something odd. Kate had called herself a friend. _Her_ friend. Max stared back at Kate in shock.

 _I don't have any friends… not anymore._

"Kate, I'm a shitty friend. You shouldn't want to be my friend." Max's grim tone hit Kate like a slap to the face, a sudden shock unsteadying the girl for the briefest of moments.

"Why on earth would you say something like that?"

Staring at the floor, Max found herself unable to look at the devastation that she had wrought upon Kate.

"I just am… I have a habit of abandoning people when they need me most…"

"Max, that doesn't sound like you at all. Where is this coming from?"

Inhaling deeply, Max felt something shift inside of her chest. _Why not? Why not tell Kate what a horrible person I am? Maybe then she'll understand…_

"I left Chloe. I left her all alone… I abandoned her," said Max, the wound deep within her ripping open again.

"When?" Kate asked, her voice gentling. She seemed so serious now. Perhaps she really was interested in helping, in understanding. Max ignored the pain and forced herself to continue speaking.

"Five years ago. Her dad died, and I just left her."

"You left her? How did you do that?"

"My dad got a job in Seattle, so we moved away."

"That's hardly your fault, Max. That doesn't sound like something that you had very much control over."

"You don't understand! I told her that I would keep in touch and I didn't! She reached out to me every once and a while and I didn't… I couldn't… I just couldn't do the same."

"Why not? What stopped you?"

"What was I supposed to say? Sorry I have been a shitty friend? Sorry I'm bad at keeping in touch? What if she had been angry with me? What if she hated me for abandoning her? What if she blamed me for… everything?"

"Does Chloe seem angry with you now, Max?" Kate's question brought a tide of anger rising to the surface, but Max suppressed it.

 _Obviously not, probably not… everyone would know about it if she was… She'd have shouted me down the first time we met… I almost wish she had…_

"No… I mean… she probably is… but she has Rachel now, so she doesn't have any reason to be mad at me anymore. She's got her now. What does she need me for?"

"Max… Chloe can have more than one friend. You should really reach out to Chloe, and tell her what you're telling me. I'm sure that you will find—"

"No, I can't!"

"Why not?"

"I just… can't… she'll just think my excuses are stupid. I promised that I would keep in touch, and I broke my promise over and over again… for five years! I don't even know how that much time passed, but it did! It's not like I didn't want to reach out and talk to her, I just couldn't. Like I said… I'm just a really shitty friend."

"I don't think that you are a shitty friend, Max," Kate sensibly countered, her voice now taking a matter-of-fact tone.

"I bailed on our tea-date tonight… that's shitty of me," replied Max.

"Considering the circumstances, I can see why you did." Kate's smile returned, shining radiant once again. She was certainly doing her best to prove to Max that there were no hard feelings. Max shrugged. She still felt like a shitty friend. "Why today though? Did something happen between you and Chloe to bring all of this out?"

"No… I…"

Why had it happened today? Why not yesterday or tomorrow? She had lived with this pain for years after all. Why now?

Kate must have seen it, must have seen the sudden realization hit her. Max didn't want to remember what she saw, but she recalled it anyway. It hadn't started today. No, it had started _last night_. It had started when she saw Rachel kiss Chloe.

It had gotten worse when she saw Chloe kissing Rachel. Unbearably worse.

Max looked up at Kate, saw her friend sitting and waiting patiently, her face a mixture of apprehension and worry. Kate could see it—she could see it as plainly as Max felt it. Max's chest tightened and the room became smaller. She wanted to look to the door once more, but she found herself entirely unable to break away from Kate's gaze. A hand, Kate's hand, appeared in one of Max's. Max held onto it as if it were the only thing keeping her in this world.

"Max, what happened?" Kate felt so far away now. Max grasped her hand with both of her own, gripping it tightly as she spoke.

"Last night… I saw Rachel kiss Chloe." It was hard to speak, hard to breathe. "And then today… I saw Chloe kissing Rachel…"

"Oh… Max…" Kate was suddenly beside her once again, holding her. Max hadn't even noticed Kate's hand slip away from her. She had been too caught up with the inescapable truth that had burst forth from her lips. She hadn't meant to say it, but it had escaped anyway.

Max tried to say the words, but she couldn't. Her voice was gone, lost to the grief that was assaulting her once again. Tears pooled in her eyes. It had been a long time since she had cried, let alone twice in one day. Unfortunately, these tears did not bring relief with them as their predecessors had. This time, emptiness and loss burst forth from Max's soul as her grief cascaded down her face. Kate's arms attacked the grief with the same warmth and security that they had before, but it wasn't enough, not this time.

This time Max truly knew why everything felt so wrong. Luckily for her, as she choked back her tears, Kate put the undeniable truth to words.

"You love Chloe… don't you, Max?"

"Yes."

And with that confirmation, the misery of the world finally became clear. Max loved Chloe, but not just as a friend. She loved her, and she couldn't rejoice in the realization because Chloe was with Rachel.

Max's love was forsaken, and it was all her fault.


	3. Chapter 3

Kate sat alone in the mostly empty diner, idly stirring her steaming cup of tea. The rhythmic clinking of her spoon against her mug somehow reminded her of the song she had been playing much earlier in the day. She _still_ had that melody stuck in her head—it simply wouldn't go away. Despite her continued obsession with her music, her thoughts soon wandered back to Max.

 _Poor Max…_

Kate couldn't even begin to understand the torment her friend must be going through. She knew it must be an incredible burden to bear, its monstrous effects all too easy to see. The devastation wrought upon Max was unlike anything Kate had ever encountered before. Kate had very limited experiences in matters of love, especially personally.

It wasn't as if she had _zero_ love in her life, quite the opposite. Her family loved her. It was difficult to see in her mother most of the time, but she meant well. At least, that's what Kate told herself when her mother's overly conservative and overbearing habits threatened to suffocate her. Kate didn't want to feel ungrateful, but her mother was _a lot_ to deal with sometimes… thank goodness for her father. Kate was her father's favorite, and she secretly relished this fact.

But _Love_ … Kate had never felt that way about anyone. Not that cupid's arrow had ever been fired anywhere near her, _yet,_ she forcibly told herself. Most days, Kate saw this as a misfortune, but perhaps it was the opposite? The arrow of love was certainly more of a curse on Max's life at the present moment. Love was supposed to be magical, beautiful, a blessing from the heavens… not a poisonous curse. Kate wouldn't wish such a thing on anyone, not even the most despicable human being on the planet. It just didn't seem fair.

Love would find her… one day. What if she had already missed it? Could you miss love? Was such a thing possible?

 _What about Kevin?_

Kate blinked at the thought. He _had_ asked her out to a concert, after all. Kate tried but couldn't remember what kind of concert it had been. She hadn't recognized the band at all. Even so, was that why he had asked _her_? Was he… smitten with her? It was hard to imagine, she wasn't anything special. The boys of Blackwell seemed exclusively interested in other girls—girls like Victoria.

Sighing, Kate scanned what little of the parking lot that she could see outside of the Two Whales Diner. Victoria was late.

"Still waiting, honey?" the diner's owner suddenly asked. Kate's attention snapped back to reality as she turned towards the approaching woman.

"Yes, it seems so," Kate replied with a smile.

"I have half a mind to give that boy a talking to when he finally shows up!" Kate giggled at Joyce's words, she was such a sweet soul. A sweet soul tempered with steel and fire. Her daughter was so much like her! It was hard to see, especially with Chloe's blue hair and her mother's southern accent, but both mother and daughter had fierce tempers. They weren't afraid to show them either.

"Don't worry, Mrs. Price. I'm waiting on a friend. She's just running late, I'm sure." Kate smiled to show that she wasn't bothered by the situation, not _too_ bothered.

"Well that's good to hear, dear. And please, call me Joyce." The woman smiled warmly, but paused before she turned away. "You're not waiting on my daughter, are you? That girl lives life by her own clock, that's for sure."

Kate's response was lost when Victoria made a dramatic entrance into the diner. As usual, all of the available heads turned in the girl's direction. An exasperated sigh exploded out of Victoria as she hurried towards Kate's booth.

"I am _so_ sorry, Marsh!" Victoria paused as she collapsed into the opposite side of the booth. "You must think I'm an evil bitch for making you wait so long!"

"Calm down, Victoria… It's not a problem, really. Joyce and I were just catching up." Kate's calm words soothed the flustered girl across the table from her.

"I still can't believe that Chloe Price is _your_ daughter," said Victoria. Most people might have added 'no offense' to such a statement, but not Victoria Chase. Joyce was entirely unoffended though, and shot the girl a quick smile before responding.

"Sometimes I have trouble believing it myself!" The three shared a quick, polite laugh. "Now, are you two ready to order?"

Both girls ordered burgers with sides of fries. Joyce made the best burgers around, how could they not? Once Joyce left, soon to return with Victoria's drink order, Kate was bombarded with more apologies.

"Seriously, I'm so sorry for making you wait. Taylor was giving me an earful…" Victoria paused, exhaling deeply. "Her mom is in the hospital for surgery, and Taylor is really upset about it… She even wants me to go to the hospital with her tomorrow. _Me!_ I'm not you Kate. I can't help people with words or whatever. I felt so freaking useless listening to her. I had no idea what to say! I mean, I _tried_ to say encouraging shit and all that, but I'm sure all I did was sound like a moron—hey, you should talk to Taylor! That's like you thing, right? I know you two aren't friends or anything, but I'm sure that you'll do a way better job at cheering her up than I did, or ever could."

Finally able to get a word in, Kate reached over and grasped Victoria's fidgeting hands. "Victoria, listen to me. Sometimes just listening to people who are in need is exactly what they need. I'm so glad that you were able to be there for Taylor when she needed you. You're a great friend to her. Don't worry about what you say, the fact that you were there for her is what matters most. I'm sure that you'll do fine tomorrow."

Victoria calmed, but a heavy weight continued to press down on the girl. Kate smiled, reaching out to Taylor couldn't possibly hurt. It was so endearing to see Victoria so worked up about one of her friends.

"I'll reach out to her too, just in case, but I'm sure that you will find—"

Victoria nearly collapsed in relief. "Thanks Marsh, please do, you're the best. Sorry for being such a lame date…" The conversation dropped off as Joyce returned with Victoria's drink. Kate sipped at her tea during the respite.

"You're lucky that this _isn't_ a date. Joyce promised to give whoever was standing me up a stern talking to." Kate's words caused Victoria to roll her eyes dramatically.

"Now we're not on a date? Make up your mind, Marsh."

Kate smiled, taking another sip of her tea, this turned out to be a mistake.

"Speaking of dates… when do you think that nerd Kevin is going to ask you out again? I bet _that_ was something. I hear he nearly died when you turned him down. You're so bad, Marsh."

"Victoria!" gasped Kate, nearly choking on her tea. "How'd you even hear about that?"

"Oh please… I know about everything that goes on at _my_ school. The better question is, why did you turn him down? Was it really as bad as it sounded? What the hell is a 'Sabaton' anyway?"

Kate sighed. She was in Victoria's sights now and it would be difficult to shake her lose.

"He was actually very sweet," Kate said brightly.

"Oh yeah? So sweet that you turned him down?"

"It wasn't like that—I was busy—you know how busy I am most nights."

"You and your little bible study groups," said Victoria, rolling her eyes to the ceiling. Then she returned them to Kate and gave her a mischievous smile, " Chloe and Rachel certainly enjoyed the concert, at least according to social media. Their pics seemed pretty wild, probably not your thing anyway. But I guess the _real_ question is… would you have actually gone if you hadn't been busy?"

Kate's annoyance with Victoria's questioning suddenly evaporated. She hadn't really thought about it. Would she have gone if she had been able to? Kate really didn't have an answer for Victoria. Quickly becoming bored with Kate's hesitation, Victoria shrugged.

"Oh well, it's not like it matters, I hear that Kevin rebounded pretty quickly and scooped up little Maxine Caulfield as his date." Victoria's eyes rounded with realization and her mouth dropped open a little. "Oh. My. God. Kate. Was that why Max was so upset? Is Kevin secretly an asshole like… pretty much every other guy out there? That's it isn't it? That little shit! Who the fuck does he think he is? Let's leave right now and—"

"Victoria!" Kate nearly shouted, bringing Victoria to a sudden stop. Kate had so much to process, too much. Even though she knew it was impossible for Victoria Chase to be misinformed about her gossip, Kate still felt the need to clarify.

"Let me get this straight… Kevin asked Max to the concert?"

"Uh oh, Kate's getting jealous," Victoria singsonged. "Girl, you are so fired up, look at you!" Kate ignored her.

"I won't get into what Max and I spoke about… but I can assure you that it wasn't Kevin… so put out the torches and put away those pitchforks…" Victoria seemed very displeased by Kate's words. It seemed that the queen bee of Blackwell still had a long way to go before she truly gave up her crown. "Still, I think it's sweet that you are so protective of Max. I didn't realize that you two were that close."

Color flashed briefly onto Victoria's face, so briefly that Kate almost missed it. But Kate _didn't_ miss it. The now covered up reaction was adorable.

"Close? Really Marsh? That shy little hipster has barely said much of anything to me since the beginning of the school year. Ugh, I am so sick of that act she puts on. She's so freaking shy, like what's the deal? All she does is take selfies with that retro camera of hers and hide behind her headphones. I bet that she listens to a bunch of hipster music. Not that hipster music is bad or anything… it's just—"

"Victoria—" Kate tried and failed to regain control.

"Okay, okay, fine. Her photos are pretty neat. Nothing compared to _my_ photography—"

"Victoria—"

"Fine! Okay! She's actually really talented! But don't you dare tell anyone else I said that—"

"Victoria!"

"What, Marsh? What's your deal?" asked Victoria, entirely confused at Kate's annoyance. Incredulous, Kate heaved a heavy sigh. "Anyway, I hear Rachel got Kevin the hookup with Max. Did you know that _they_ were friends? I mean Rachel is chill with everyone I guess, but have you ever heard of her trying to hook people up before? Didn't she like… introduce Max to tons of people or whatever? _I_ never got an introduction. I was Rachel's understudy for way too long for her to just forget about me like that! I would have been so much better in the Tempest than her anyway, everybody knows. I mean, Rachel was great and all, but I would have killed it."

Before any more words could be spoken, mercifully, Joyce arrived like a burger-bearing angel.

The pair remained silent as they ate. Joyce's cooking was simply too good to allow conversation. Finally having time to think, Kate's mind began to process everything. Slowly, something stirred inside of her. Was it jealousy? Was she bothered by Kevin asking Max to the concert?

Kate quickly decided that she wasn't. If Victoria was right, and she probably was, the concert probably had been too wild for her anyway. But what if it hadn't been?

 _Stop_. She scolded herself. If Kevin really wanted to take her out on a date… he'll just ask again. Right? Still unsure on how she would respond to such a thing, if she had the time, Kate focused on her food.

* * *

A soft buzzing disturbed Max's dreams. Feeling as if she should recognize the sound, Max nonetheless willed it away, ignoring it as best as she could. She was having a good dream after all.

She and Chloe were kids again, back when everything was so much simpler, back before everything had changed. Max dreamed of playing pirates and buried treasure. The buzzing sound grew more distant as her thoughts focused on Captain Bluebeard.

 _Chloe._

Her hair was longer and wasn't yet blue. Her face was still soft with youth and had yet to be hardened by loss. That smile of hers, that infections shit eating grin, Max lived for that.

The buzz was almost entirely inaudible now. Chloe was all that mattered.

Max's dreams shifted, she was now alone inside Chloe's room. Kneeling on the floor, she held a tape recorder in her hands. Inside of it, Max knew, was her last message to Chloe before she had left for Seattle.

The buzzing now filled the room, threatening to tear Max's world to pieces. Max welcomed it, she didn't want to relive that moment. She _couldn't_ relive that moment.

Max awoke to the dull drone of her phone's alarm.

Groaning, Max rolled over and fumbled with her phone on her nightstand, where was that snooze button again?

Max contemplated laying back down, but her dreams were poisoned by the past once more, and she was awake now anyway. Furthermore, it was still quite early in the morning, perfect time for a shower.

Yawning, Max shoved herself out of her bed. She was immediately chilled by cool room, her thin T-shirt and pajama shorts provided her with little protection. Shivering, Max rubbed away her goosebumps as she crossed her small room. A warm shower would be perfect right now.

As she gathered her shower supplies, Max had to stifle another yawn. It really was early, perhaps a little too early, but it was better this way. Waking up this early was Max's choice. Showering in the communal bathroom alone was far better than showering with half a dozen other girls. And besides… getting first dibs on the hot water was much more preferable than the alternative.

Max liked her showers scalding and steamy. The sensation of almost too hot water helped to stifle her racing thoughts. It was almost a necessity, she usually dreamt of Chloe… and how she had left her.

Max rarely had any good dreams.

Shaking her head, Max tried to physically dispel the dark clouds swirling around inside of her head. It didn't work. Max hurriedly left her room and made her way into the hall, hastily venturing towards her floor's bathroom. The storm clouds in her mind dissipated as she passed Kate's dorm. Max smiled as she remembered Kate's parting words last night.

"…you don't have to feel guilty, Max. You love who you love, and why shouldn't it be Chloe?"

Max's smile vanished as she recalled Kate's other words.

"You have to tell her."

That would never happen.

Max understood where Kate was coming from, her logic made sense. Kate insisted that Max needed closure, and the only way to get that was to talk to Chloe. Not just about her feelings for her, but about everything.

That was also never going to happen.

Chloe could get mad, was probably stilled pissed at Max for abandoning her… Max didn't want to witness that. Just picturing an angry Chloe… an angry Chloe mad at _her_ … that would be horrible. Max felt that she wouldn't be able to bear it.

Instead, Max had chosen to soldier on. She had survived for years with this burden, at least now she understood why leaving Chloe had hurt so much, left such a void in her life. She loved her.

Max still felt odd thinking about it. And yet, it felt right. It felt so right, in fact, that Max felt the storm clouds in her mind entirely vanish. The sun wasn't shining, but at least it wasn't threatening to rain. Even better, the bathroom was just as empty as Max had expected it to be. No one else was foolish enough to get up _this_ early after all.

* * *

Hair still wet, skin still tingling from the just below burning water, Max lay in her bed once more. She wanted to go back to sleep, but that was an impossibility now. Not only was she now wide awake, thanks to the hot shower, she was also hungry. There was plenty of time for much needed extravagance too, her first class wasn't due to start for several hours.

Smiling, Max double checked her phone just to be sure.

 _Score! I haven't missed the first bus into town!_

Eating breakfast at the Two Whales was much more preferable to eating at the school's cafeteria. Not just because of the amazing food, but also because Joyce was there. Max hadn't seen Joyce since she had come back to Arcadia Bay, she hadn't felt ready. She _still_ didn't feel ready, but her stomach willed her on. It wanted, no needed, Joyce's cooking. Her dreams of the past had made it quite nostalgic.

A sudden thought crossed her mind, a dangerous thought.

 _Should I invite… Chloe?_

Max's phone was in her hand. She _did_ have Chloe's number and she _could_ just text her. Inviting her out to breakfast would be easy. It could even be fun. Especially since Max certainly wouldn't bring up any of the heavy things that she didn't really want to talk to Chloe about anyway.

The thought faded. She _could_ invite Chloe to breakfast, but she wouldn't. Chloe could be with Rachel. Chloe could still be mad at her. Chloe be asleep, or say no, or have already eaten, or say no… or… or she could ask to bring Rachel.

 _You have to tell her._ Kate's words swirled around her head.

 _No, Kate, no I don't… Crap, how long have I been laying here?_

Max burst into a swarm of activity, she may not have missed the first bus, but she didn't have much time to make it. She quickly finished drying her hair and threw on a pair of jeans that slipped on easier then they should have. Pausing for a brief moment, Max examined her waist-line. Had she lost weight? Did she have any weight to lose?

Deciding that it didn't matter, Max finished dressing, putting on a random T-shirt only to mostly cover it up with her gray hoodie. Joyce's food would certainly take care of any weight Max may or may not have lost recently. Max planned on eating a lot of it. She stopped at her mirror just long enough to make sure that her hair wasn't a disaster. Not having enough time to judge her in that brief moment, Max's mirror image kept its comments to herself.

Max snatched up her messenger bag and froze just as she was about to rush out of her room.

 _Crap! Lisa! Mom would kill me..._

In her haste, Max had almost forgotten to water Lisa. Max would have felt really bad about it later, Lisa had been her sole companion during the darkest parts of her life here at Blackwell.

Watering the large, leafy plant only took a few moments, Max kept Lisa's water bottle filled at all times, but the delay had cost precious moments. The bus would not wait for her, she had better hurry.

 _Show me the meaning of haste, shoes!_

* * *

Max only barely managed to catch the first bus into town, and two and a half songs later, she arrived at the Two Whales Diner. Max alone disembarked at the diner. She found this odd, but refreshing. Wandering alone down the sidewalk was far better than milling along with a crowd of her peers. It was far easier to stop and snap a few quick photos when not being bombarded by a crowd of rude stares. Max hated those stares. They always seemed to find the chinks in her flimsy armor. Sighing, Max jokingly made a mental note to upgrade her noob gear to something better. Maybe something with extra defense against impolite glares.

Lingering outside to snap a few pictures with her camera, Max soon made her way inside the diner. She was greeted by the comforting familiarity of the diner. It hadn't changed a bit during her five-year absence.

"Wowzers… It's good to be back," Max mumbled to herself as she took in her surroundings, and was all at once overwhelmed by reassuring nostalgia. And then there was the smell, a hearty mix of pancakes, eggs, bacon and everything else delicious. And coffee, most importantly the coffee. Joyce made the best coffee. If it wasn't for Chloe's mother, Max probably would never have grown to love the life-giving nutrient.

"My word! Look who finally turned up. Chloe told me you that were back in town," Joyce called out of the hustle and bustle from behind the counter. Ignoring the impatient gestures from several of her patrons seated at the bar, Joyce dashed out from behind the counter.

"Hi, Joyce! It's good be—"

Max found herself cut off and almost unable to breathe as Joyce ensnared her in a fierce hug. It was good to be back, she had missed Joyce. Max loved her parents, but Joyce was different. Joyce was special. Max's parents weren't the best at expressing, or acknowledging, feelings.

One of Max's favorite teachers in Seattle had taken it upon himself to reach out to Max's parents about a few concerns of his. Max found out later that he had suggested counseling, believing that Max suffered from depression and anxiety. Her parents had summarily dismissed his comments and quickly removed Max from his class without her consent. It wasn't that her parents were evil or cruel, they simply didn't believe in such things.

"Max Caulfield in the flesh. Look at you! You've grown into quite the young woman… the boys must be all over you!"

"No, not really—"

"Nonsense, no need lie to me like that. See? You're turning bright red!"

"Hey, lady, when am I going to get that refill I—"

"You'll get your damned coffee when its good and ready!" Joyce responded immediately. The trucker who had dared to interrupt the reunion flinched and turned away, his neighbors chuckling at the stern rebuke he had just received.

"Grab a seat, Max. I'll be over shortly with some coffee. Don't worry, the menu hasn't changed much since you've been gone. Go on now!" Joyce turned away, but not before herding Max towards an empty booth.

Smiling, Max took a seat in the furthest corner of the diner, sitting with her back to the wall. She could now see the entirely of the diner, and it was packed. Almost every seat at the bar was occupied by truckers, two police officers, and a few vagrant looking fishermen. The booths, on the other hand, were only half-filled. Some obvious out-of-towners and even a few of Max's school-mates had claimed their spaces.

It didn't take long before Joyce arrived with a steaming pot of freshly made coffee. Max eyed it wolfishly.

"Any chance we'll be seeing my daughter this morning?" Joyce asked as she poured a mug of coffee for Max.

"She's… busy. Sorry, Joyce." Max felt like 'busy' was a far better response then 'I'm too terrified to talk to her'.

"Busy sleeping you mean?" Joyce countered quickly, a knowing smile gracing her lips.

"Yeah, probably."

"Probably? Meaning you didn't even ask her, did you, Max?"

"I mean… I just figured she'd be busy…"

"Busy with Rachel, you mean?"

Max shifted uncomfortably in her seat, unable to break her gaze away from Joyce's suddenly fierce gaze. Expertly detecting Max's discomfort, Joyce softened her demeanor.

"Max, sweetheart, I know it probably looks like Chloe doesn't need you anymore, but trust me… she does. Just because she's got this new friend doesn't mean there ain't room for you too."

Blinking, Max stared back at Joyce. How had she read her so well? What did she mean about Chloe needing her? Before Max could form a response, Joyce continued to speak in a hushed tone.

"Now listen darlin', and you didn't hear this from me… But I've read Chloe's diary. She doesn't know and I'd like to keep it that way. For a while after you left, it read like a damned love letter to you. _Even_ after she met Rachel. Sure, she's angry. Hell, she's angry about a lot of things in life… she's my teenage daughter after all! She certainly didn't get that from her father, that's for damned sure…"

Max saw an opportunity to change the direction of the conversation and took it. "I'm so sorry about William, Joyce. I'll always miss him."

Joyce didn't take the bait. She was far too clever for that.

 _Shit!_

"That's very sweet of you, Max. But I see what you're doing… Look, I know it's going to be hard… but just talk to Chloe. She might get angry and holler, but that's just part of who she is now. She'll apologize for it later, and even if she doesn't have the sense to, don't take it too personally. She might have blue hair, tattoos, and a bad attitude… but she's still the little pirate that you used to run around with. Keep that in mind, Max, and don't let Rachel scare you neither."

Max nodded, swallowing hard. She found herself entirely unable to speak. And yet, even with the overwhelming sense of dread developing inside of her, she felt her spirits lift. Joyce made everything sound so simple, so easy. Maybe talking to Chloe wouldn't be so hard. Then again, maybe it would be.

"Well, now that we got all that out of the way… let's get down to the nitty gritty. What will Max Caulfield be having to eat this morning?"

Max's eyes darted to the menu that sat on the table before her. Panic seized her, she hadn't had a chance to look it over! Luckily, as Joyce had said before, nothing had really changed. Time seemed to freeze as two of her favorites sprang forth to grab her attention.

Belgian waffles or a bacon omelet?

Max licked her lips, she could almost taste the deliciously sweet syrup dripping off of the crisp stack of waffles already. And yet, the strong scent of bacon seeping out from the kitchen tickled her nostrils, begging her to reconsider. The question haunted her, suddenly feeling like the most important crises in her small world.

Belgian waffles or a bacon omelet?

All at once, the answer dawned on Max. It was so simple. Feeling entirely free of worry and distractions, Max looked up and Joyce and proudly declared her answer.

"I'll have a bacon omelet with a side of Belgian waffles, please!"

 _Perfection!_

"Hungry, are we?" Joyce laughed as she jotted down the order on a small, hand-held notepad. "Okay, Max, that will be out in a jiffy. Just remember what I said, alright?"

Her smile only wavering a little, Max nodded enthusiastically. Joyce retreated and disappeared into the kitchen.

 _If only everything in life could be so simple… just choose both! Life sure would be… strange if that answer worked more often._

Max's eyes wandered as she mused to herself, soon finding Arcadia Bay's silent guardian off in the distance. The lighthouse looked majestic as it stood proudly perched atop a lightly forested cliff at the edge of the ocean.

 _What a beautiful picture…_ Max thought wistfully. Her thoughts were jarringly interrupted, however, when the diner's door swung open, its bell jingling loudly as it announced a new arrival.

 _Rachel!_ _Shit! Chloe can't be far behind!_ Max wanted to hide, to simply disappear, but there was nowhere to go. The situation grew worse when Rachel spotted Max tucked away in the corner of the diner. Smiling angelically, Rachel approached, her golden hair glowing like a halo in the bright morning sun as she approached.

"Hey, Max! Is this seat taken?" Rachel asked politely, nothing but kindness radiating from behind her eyes. Max calmed, finding peace and security behind Rachel's eyes. Rachel wasn't a monster, nor a demon, she was just a girl, Max reminded herself.

Looking around, Max noticed that there were still a few unclaimed booths available for Rachel, but it would be awfully rude to turn the girl away… even though Max wanted to do just that.

"Saved it just for you!" Max responded cheerily.

 _Holy shit, where did that come from?_

Rachel giggled musically. "Did you now, Max? You're so sweet!"

 _If only I was as pretty as Rachel… maybe then I wouldn't feel so… dorky and lame…_

Joyce returned with the food before Max's thoughts could abuse her any more.

"Good morning, Rachel," Joyce said pleasantly as she placed Max's food on the table. "Does this mean my daughter will be gracing us with her presence?"

"Sorry, Joyce, she's still sleeping like a baby."

Suddenly, Max desperately wanted to see what sleeping Chloe looked like. She had seen it so many times in the past, but right at this moment she couldn't remember, no matter how hard she tried.

"Well, so long as she keeps her grades up, I guess I can't complain." Joyce sighed, shaking her head. "What can I get for you today, Rachel, the usual?"

 _Rachel has a usual?_ Max thought glumly.

"Yes, please! I'm starving." Rachel responded, an enchanting smile shining brightly from her perfect lips. If Max let herself, she felt that she could be whisked away by the powerful magic that seemed to be infused within the gorgeous girl sitting across from her. That, however, was impossible. Max was already bound by a much more powerful magic. Chloe's magic.

Joyce didn't even bother writing down Rachel's order, she knew it by heart.

"What's your usual?" Max winced, her question had come out with more ire than she had meant to. Rachel, luckily, didn't seem to notice.

"It seems that we are champions of the same desire. One of the two dishes before you are what my heart seeks. But which one? Do you think I'm a waffles lady, or an omelet girl?" Rachel's smile widened and her eyes narrowed as Max thought hard on her answer.

Max's thoughts shrieked to a halt. Something about Rachel's confident smile bugged her. Why was she so sure that Max wouldn't choose the right answer? Her odds were fifty-fifty. A mere coin-flip separated victory from defeat, not the best odds at all. Unless…

"Neither," Max stated.

"Clever girl!" Rachel praised. "Now, bonus round, what do you think my usual is? Better hurry contestants, time is running out!"

"Morning glory waffles?" Max asked hesitantly. Eggs and bacon hadn't seemed like a Rachel Amber sort of meal, too plain. Max had also decided that Rachel was more of 'waffle lady' than an 'omelet girl' because Rachel had momentarily eyed Max's waffles. And seeing as there were only two available options of waffles on the menu…

"Wow, Max, you are hella' good at this game! Well done. You should try them some time, if you haven't already… all that fruit drizzled in syrup! I'd challenge you to another game, but it looks like my food has arrived, such a shame." Max was shocked, Rachel actually seemed to be pouting because of the turn of events. Her spirits rose significantly when her food was before her, however.

The pair ate in silence, taking time to eye each other suspiciously throughout the meal. Or at least that's what Max was doing. She wasn't positive that Rachel was doing the same, but she felt that she was. Whenever her eyes left Rachel, she felt as if she were being heavily scrutinized. More so than usual at least.

Half-way through her meal, Rachel received a text message. The girl was on her feet in flash, her food entirely forgotten.

"Be right back, Max. Watch my food for me?" Not even bothering to hear Max's response, Rachel turned and walked out of the diner. Max, feeling nosier than she ever had before, tracked the girl's movements as she crossed the parking lot and disappeared into a newly arrived, and dirty looking off-white RV decorated by a pale blue stripe.

Max hurriedly finished her food, eyes never leaving the RV.

Whose vehicle was that? Why had Rachel so suddenly left? She hadn't even finished her food!

Max eyed the remaining syrup covered strawberries and banana slices atop of a half-eaten waffle… they certainly did look delicious. Max was about to swipe a strawberry off of Rachel's plate, but thought better of it when she noticed Joyce approaching out of the corner of her eye.

"All finished? Did Rachel take off already?" Joyce asked as she collected Max's empty plates.

"Uh, I think she went to the bathroom," Max responded, trying not to look at the dirty RV.

"Can you tell her that the meal is on the house when she gets back? Yours is too hun'."

Max prepared to protest, but received a stern look from Joyce as she reached for her wallet.

"Thanks, Joyce. I'll let Rachel know. But… before you go, I have a question. Do you know who owns that sweet looking RV over there?"

Joyce's expression hardened as she caught sight of the vehicle.

 _Not good._

"Max, you're a free woman, but if you have any sense at all you will stay away from that man and his dog. Do you understand?"

 _Definitely not good._

"Okay, don't worry… I was just curious." Max replied sheepishly.

Joyce's face softened and she smiled, entirely convinced that Max would listen to her. Unfortunately, Max was now more curious than ever to know who owned the RV.

 _Curiosity killed the cat… poor Bongo…_ Max's thoughts warned her. Bongo had been Chloe's childhood pet cat, the third part of their pirate crew. He had never seen that car coming. But Max wasn't a cat, and she was more than just simply curious. She was nosey. And a lifetime of nosiness had gifted her with impressive detective skills. However, they were entirely unnecessary at the moment.

The neighboring booth was occupied by two of the skater boys from school. Justin and Trevor. Reeking of pot as usual, Justin leaned over the divider that separated the booths.

"Hey, Max… the dude's name is Frank. If you need us to get you the hook up, just let us know." Justin kept his voice conspiratorially low while Trevor, like a good friend, scanned the area to make sure that the conversation went unheard.

The two were dressed like skater boys dressed. Both wore stylish hoodies while Justin sported a worn, red baseball cap and Trevor wore a faded burgundy beanie. Justin's thick rimmed glasses only accented how red and foggy his eyes were. The feint beginnings of a goatee and mustache didn't help him look any less stoned either.

Max didn't need to ask any further questions. She had all the information that she needed. She nodded to Justin, giving him a wink to show that she understood. Justin smiled and nodded in return before turning away. Max sighed. Not long ago, she had found boys like Justin and Trevor to be cute. She might even still feel that way, but her heart belonged entirely to Chloe.

Max let out a heavier sigh when she recalled that she had seen Chloe skateboarding with Justin and Trevor one day in between classes. Max's daydreaming was cut short by a sudden realization. Nothing nefarious was going on between this Frank and Rachel. Rachel was simply buying some drugs, probably weed. Chloe smoked, Max knew, the odor clung to Chloe like a second skin sometimes.

However, unlike Justin and Trevor, the aroma was pleasant when it came from Chloe, mingling perfectly with the fierce bite of cigarettes and the soft spice of the men's deodorant that she wore.

Sighing one last time, Max turned to look at the lighthouse once more, hoping that her thoughts would drift away to something other than Chloe.

They did. The bus was pulling up, its brakes squeaking noisily as it slowed to stop just before the diner's parking lot. Max joined Trevor and Justin in a mad dash for the bus. Luckily for them, dozens of students were filling out of the vehicle and a small line was forming to get onboard. While in line, Max turned toward the RV just in time to see Rachel open the door. To Max's surprise, and Rachel's, an arm wrapped around Rachel and dragged her back inside.

Max's hands dove inside her messenger back in search of her camera as Rachel's delighted squeals reached her ears, broken up by a dogs' excited barking. Max tried to frame up the shot as fast as she could. The door banged shut before she could snap the shot.

The bus driver honked the horn, startling Max out of her disappointment. Realizing that she now stood alone on the sidewalk, Max stowed her camera and hurried aboard. She cast a quick apology to the driver and received an unintelligible grunt in return as he pulled the door closed. Max found an empty seat with plenty of space away from the rest of the passengers. Despite this, several comments from the other students caught her ears as she settled down.

"…such a fucking nerd…"

"…still tap that…"

"What was she trying to take a picture of anyway?"

"…piece of trash or…"

"…such a fucking loser…"

Max didn't recognize the voices, but she knew it wasn't Justin or Trevor. They wouldn't say hurtful things like that… or would they? For once, Max didn't need her headphones to drown out the harsh words. She was entirely focused on something far more important. One of the voices had been right at any rate. Max _had_ been trying to photograph a piece of trash. Max hadn't seen much, but it had certainly looked like Rachel was being quite friendly with whoever this Frank guy was. _Very_ friendly.

Something was going on between them. And Max was determined to find out exactly what. And if she was right, if Rachel really was messing around with Frank…

Max's thoughts ground to a halt. Could she really tell Chloe something so awful? Would she hate her even more for being the bearer of that news? Even if it was true… wouldn't Chloe shoot the messenger?

Feeling more and more uncertain, Max slipped on her headphones and tried to drown out her swirling thoughts. Furiously skipping through her lengthy list of music, Max desperately searched for a song that would magically make everything better again.


	4. Chapter 4

"Come on, Rachel, don't be like that!" Frank called after her as she stormed toward the door of the R.V. "Soon means, _soon_ … it doesn't mean right this fucking minute!"

Rachel turned, now entirely furious with Frank's lies.

"You've said 'soon' for months now! If you don't want to leave, just say so! I'm so sick of this bullshit!"

Frank's expression changed as he looked away from her, his eyes going to the floor, and then down towards the bedroom.

"Christ, Rachel… you're freaking out Pompidou… Just calm down."

Turning to look as well, Rachel exhaled in frustration. The poor thing looked terrified. Pompidou always looked like that when Rachel yelled at Frank, which was happening quite a lot lately. Perhaps it was time to end things with Frank… he certainly wasn't turning out to be what she had hoped for.

"I'm sorry, okay. I'm sorry, Pompidou… Come here, buddy."

Hesitating only a moment, Pompidou bounded towards her. Kneeling down, Rachel bombarded the dog with scratches and pets. Pompidou adored her, probably just as much as his owner. Frank had apparently rescued the brown German Shepherd, Pit-bull mix from a dog-fighting ring as a puppy. The dog had a reputation of being extremely fierce, but he was always a big softie around Rachel. Except when she screamed at Frank, then he was a big wuss.

"Look… I just need some more time. After football season is over, I'll have tons of cash. You know how doped up the Bigfoots like to get before and after their games."

"Fine. Whatever. I'm going to be late to class. Thanks for the ride."

Rachel was outside of the R.V. before Frank could say another word.

Rachel sighed as she made her way from Blackwell's parking lot to the main campus grounds. Frank's last-second affection had made her miss the bus. She smiled as her thoughts drifted back to their embrace—he had done that on purpose. Once she missed the bus, he had an excuse to graciously chauffeur her back to school. Alarm bells were ringing inside of Rachel's head. It wasn't everyday that the state's district attorney's daughter was dropped off at school by her drug dealer and secret lover.

The precarious situation should have excited her—it _used_ to excite her, the thrill of being found out had once been so invigorating. Now… it just made Rachel feel empty. Empty and alone.

It was odd. Rachel had never been farther away from being alone at any other point in her life. She had Chloe, who would do anything for her. Then, there was Frank, who adored her. And finally, there was quite literally everyone else at school who idolized her. None of that really mattered though. The gaping hole inside of her mercilessly sucked all of that away. A hole that could only be filled by family.

Rachel wanted her father back. Her _real_ father, not that imposter that stood in his place. Not the spineless liar that lived in her home. The two men were so starkly different from one another that it was easier to picture them as entirely separate entities. They weren't though, they were the same person. And then there was Rachel's mother. Not the woman who lived in her house with the man who had once been her loving, caring father, but her _real_ mother. Those two _were_ actually separate people.

Sighing a second time, Rachel allowed the bitterness to bleed out of her as a refreshing burst of autumn air tugged at her hair and made it dance in the wind. She didn't hold any ill-will towards the woman who had pretended to be her mother for most of her life—she was a good person. But as caring as the woman was, she wasn't Rachel's _real_ mother. Rachel desperately wanted to meet that woman. Infuriatingly, this was an impossibility.

Rachel had missed her one opportunity to reunite with the woman who had been entirely unprepared to care for her as a child. That opportunity came and went in the briefest of moments when Rachel's father pushed the woman away, just as he had done all those years ago. He believed that he was protecting her from the woman, but Rachel didn't need protection, certainly not _his_ protection. What she did need was her mother. Her _real_ mother.

Stopping at the front steps of Blackwell Academy, Rachel glared at the building. She was the most popular, well-loved, most sought-after person in the entire school. Rachel hated it. She wasn't perfect, but everyone treated her like she was. Everyone except for Chloe. Chloe didn't see her the way everyone else did. Chloe saw her for who she really was. Unfortunately, Chloe also put Rachel on the tallest pedestal in the entire world.

Chloe believed that Rachel had saved her life.

The blue-haired rebel had _actually_ saved Rachel's life once before. Rachel shivered as she instinctively fingered the scar on her left arm where she had been stabbed by Damon Merrick. The unfocused and fleeting memories of Chloe speeding her away to safety were poisoned by anger. Rachel's own father had hired Damon to see to it that Rachel's real mother disappeared. The entire plan had exploded in his face when Damon had taken advantage of the situation, leaving others to clean up the mess and deal with the fallout.

Others like Chloe and Frank.

Chloe had done what she could to confront Damon and rescue Rachel's mother from him. Things hadn't gone well. Chloe didn't talk about it, and probably never would, but if Frank hadn't been there to stop Damon… Rachel might have lost more than her mother that day. Frank had scars from that fight, Rachel had seen them, but Frank had walked away and Damon hadn't.

 _Good riddance._

Somewhere, Rachel's mother was alive, but she might as well not be, her presence was just as absent. Rachel's father's maniacal endeavors to keep the two apart had taken their toll. According to Chloe, her mother was entirely convinced that the two of them should never see each other, ever. Rachel just didn't understand, couldn't understand. Just thinking about it made her want to scream.

She thought about it a lot. This place did that to her. There were just too many memories here, the nostalgia infecting her like a cancer, slowly killing her. She needed to leave.

Chloe kept saying that she wanted to run away with her, but after so long of _not_ leaving, Rachel now doubted that they ever would ride off into the sunset together. Rachel had tried to bury her desires of flight, tried to ignore the gaping hole in her life, but it was impossible. Chloe poured every ounce of her own soul into the gaping void inside of Rachel, but it wasn't enough, it would never be enough. Chloe didn't know this yet, but one day she might realize it just as Rachel did.

Rachel had turned to Frank, desperately hoping for an escape, for relief, but the relationship was proving to be more of the same. Frank kept promising to whisk her away from everything, to be her escape from the past, but just like Chloe, he was falling short on these declarations.

It wasn't fair. Rachel was in both of their debts and would be for life, and they had both given her the world plenty of times over. Paradoxically, she loved them both. Neither were perfect, but they didn't need to be. She adored them both. Rachel knew that she had to leave them, and the realization grew with each passing day.

Each day that Rachel spent in Arcadia Bay with her fake family was just one more reason that she needed to leave and never look back. She had already run as far as she could from them, her dorm-room at Blackwell just wasn't far enough.

But despite her overwhelming need for flight, Rachel found that she couldn't run. Not without Chloe. Leaving Chloe all alone would destroy her. Frank would survive, he was a broken man for sure, but not nearly as broken as Chloe. Rachel was Chloe's only light in the darkness, if that light suddenly went out… Rachel didn't want to think about what would happen.

Rachel loved Chloe, loved her with more passion and ferocity then should be possible, but Chloe was the unmovable ball at the end of the long chain that held Rachel in the prison that was Arcadia Bay. Wearing her customary fake smile, Rachel maneuvered through the halls of her school. Everyone greeted her warmly, nearly falling over themselves in desperation to garner her attention, even if just for a moment. Returning each and every greeting with as much warmth that she could foster from the dying fire within her, Rachel mentally prepared herself for another day.

Feeling close to the breaking point, Rachel just wanted to scream at the world around her, but she smiled instead. This was her daily routine.

The only thing that kept her from weeping at the paradoxical predicament that she found herself in was the thought of being in Chloe's arms once more. Maybe today she could convince Chloe to run away with her so that she wouldn't have to abandon her. Maybe today was the day that everything finally changed.

Rachel's thoughts froze as something caught her eye; someone at the edge of the hall wasn't clamoring for her attention. In fact, this person was doing their best to seem invisible, as if she didn't exist within the same plane of reality as she did.

Max.

 _I've finally found the key to the shackles of my life_.

Smiling genuinely, Rachel angled towards the girl who looked as if she might dive into her locker at any moment. It was all so clear to Rachel now. Max had been the catalyst to Chloe's misery. Sure, Chloe's father's death had been a tragic event, but if Max hadn't vanished…

Rachel had painstakingly pieced Chloe back together, but a few pieces were still missing. These missing pieces had eluded Rachel for what felt like an eternity. Max had those pieces, Rachel was now sure of it. Even better, it certainly did seem that something had awakened inside little Max Caulfield. Rachel saw it easily. It wasn't hard to miss when you shared an adoration for the same person.

Rachel needed to leave Arcadia Bay. It was long overdue.

Max would be Chloe's new light in the darkness. And with the proper finesse, perhaps a torch borne by Max could be brighter than the one that she herself carried. Max needed to be a willing participant in Rachel's scheme, however, and from the look of things… there was a lot of work to be done.

A plan unfolded within Rachel's mind as she neared Max. Rachel called out to her as if she were seeing an old friend after months of separation. The poor girl nearly jumped out of her skin.

 _Definitely going to need a lot of work…_

* * *

Max should have seen Rachel coming from a mile away. How could she not?

"Max! There you are!" Rachel's words nearly brought the crowded hall to a standstill. Max could feel the stares, could almost hear the unspoken questions as the world held its breath.

 _Why is Rachel talking to that loser?_

 _What could she possibly want from her?_

 _Rachel has no business hanging with that weirdo!_

 _What's Max going to do…ask her for a selfie?_

Entirely unsure whether or not the harsh words existed within her own head, or were part of reality itself, Max swallowed hard and did her best not to listen. Rachel glided up close, smiling as she leaned against the nearby locker.

"Rachel… Hey." Max nearly fell over herself in embarrassment when their parting words from earlier came back to haunt her. "Sorry for skipping out on you, the bus—"

"What?" Rachel asked in surprise. "Oh, right. Don't worry about it, silly. _I'm_ the one who should be apologizing to you. I never gave you your prize after all."

"My… prize?" Max asked, her brow furrowing.

"For winning my game! We can't have a game without a prize, now can we?" Feeling toyed with, Max wanted nothing more than the conversation to end. It felt like everyone in the entire world was part of joke and she was the punchline. The laugh-track seemed poised to explode at any moment.

"Umm… no?" responded Max, bracing herself for whatever Rachel deemed a 'prize.'

"Come hang out with Chloe and I after school today. Meet us in the parking lot at…" Rachel paused and tapped a finger to her pursed lips. The spark of an idea lit behind her eyes, and that made Max's stomach clench with nerves. "Chloe has your number, right? She does? Great! I'll have her text you the details. See you later, Max!"

Rachel was gone before Max could get another word in, leaving her standing in the middle of the hallway with her mouth hanging open.

Hanging out with Rachel and Chloe after school was her prize? If this was a joke, she certainly didn't get it. Spending time with Chloe certainly sounded like an awesome prize…

But Rachel would be there...

 _That_ alone tarnished the experience.

Should she even go?

If Chloe texted her about it, how could she not?

Max made up her mind as her first class was drawing to a close when she received a text from Chloe.

Max's world suddenly became brighter as she cautiously snuck a peak at the message.

"Miss Caulfield! Phone! Now!" Mr. Hans's voice cut through her, annihilating the bubbles of joy swarming around inside of her in a single merciless stroke.

 _Shit!_

"Sorry, Mr. Hans!" Max hastily called out as she shoved her phone back into her pocket.

"You better be. Do that again and I'll hold onto your precious little phone until the end of class. Won't I, Miss Chase?"

"Yes, Mr. Hans," Victoria grumbled form her seat, entirely unhappy to be brought into the conversation. Satisfied, Mr. Hans sought out his next victim. He didn't have to look far.

"Mr. Anderson, where was I? You're a smart kid, right? You should easily be able to remember what I was talking about…forty-five seconds ago."

Max saw Kevin go rigid in panic as their teacher's hard gaze settled on him. Kevin hesitated, Max could almost feel the blood drain from his face as if it were her own.

"Daguerreotypes?" Kevin asked, entirely unsure of himself.

"Yes," Mr. Hans responded, drawing out the word as he prodded his student for further information. "What about them?"

Victoria's hand went straight up, a look of pure joy shining from her usually stern face. It was hard to impress Mr. Hans, and Victoria was just about the only one in the class that hadn't given up with the seemingly impossible endeavor. It didn't take long for Victoria's arm to falter and return to her desk, a sulky expression on her face. More than anything, Victoria Chase hated being ignored.

Kevin clearly didn't have the answer; his silence only drove Victoria into deeper despair and she slumped on her desk with a petulant expression.

Not Mr. Hans though, he smiled like a predator.

"Maybe we should ask Ms. Marsh then, Mr. Anderson? Perhaps you were staring off in her direction attempting to procure the answer from her? Or was my lecture just boring you?"

Even though Max could just see the back of Kevin's head, she could tell how distressed the boy was, he was practically shaking. Mr. Hans smiled grimly before turning his gaze to the rest of the class.

"Is there anyone who knows where I was going with this?" Victoria's hand shot up once again. Mr. Hans sighed heavily. "Anyone besides Ms. Chase? No? Fine… go ahead and regale us."

"Louis Daguerre was a French painter who created Daguerreotypes, a process that gave portraits a sharp reflective style, like a mirror. You were going to liken them to today's images of self-expression, you know, like selfies or whatever."

"I was?" Mr. Hans asked, somewhat surprised.

"Or at least—"

"I'm only messing with you, Ms. Chase. You're not wrong." Victoria breathed a sigh of relief. Mr. Hans was certainly being merciless today. "Now… I am going to hope that more than one of you were able to follow along with the lecture today. I am just going to assume that I terrify the rest of you so much that you just couldn't put your thoughts to words. I would hate to imagine that most of you hadn't been doing the assigned reading."

Thankfully, the class bell rang before Mr. Hans could berate the class any further. The room emptied faster than usual today, Kevin making it out the door before anyone else.

* * *

"How's the flock today, Ms.—" Kate folded her arms across her chest as she came to a halt in front of Mr. Hans's desk. Her teacher's casual words trailed off when he caught sight of her hard expression. Sighing, Mr. Hans leaned back and quickly scanned the room. Kate didn't need to look, she knew that that they were alone, the other students rightfully having fled in a panicked mob.

The pair stared at one another for several moments. Kate continued to glare at Mr. Hans, doing her best to tower over the seated man. Mr. Hans, on the other hand, looked entirely relaxed. He returned her gaze with an expression of interest and patience. Kate desperately wished to get the next word in, but all of the words that were bubbling to the surface seemed entirely inappropriate.

"Alright, out with it. I know a dressing down when I see one." A wry smile spread across Mr. Hans's face. His amusement shattered the last barrier holding back Kate's words.

"Wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?" The acid dripping from Kate's words tainted the air between them. Her teacher blanched at her tone, furrowing his eyebrows as he returned her glare.

"Ms. Marsh—"

"Why must you be so hard on him?" The ferocity behind Kate's voice surprised them both. Kate's posture relaxed as her words echoed within her mind.

"Ah… so that's what this is about." Mr. Hans said, a relaxed smile returning to his hard face. "Your all riled up because the big bad wolf barked at your boyfriend. Looks like I poked the hornet nest this time… Well, I guess this finally answers the big mystery."

Kate paused. "What 'big mystery'?"

Chuckling, Mr. Hans narrowed his eyes before he responded. "Kevin likes you, that's easy enough to see. It always is with kids like him. However, it wasn't at all obvious, until now, that you were interested with his… attention."

Kate found her gaze wandering towards the open door. If this had been one of those sappy romance dramas that Alyssa always made her watch, Kevin would have been standing right there.

It wasn't though, this was real life.

Real life wasn't so simple. Would it even be a good thing if Kevin witnessed this conversation? Kate was still unsure of her specific feelings when it came to him. At the present moment, all she knew was that she was angry. Well, she _had_ been angry. Now she just felt empty, deflated, almost without purpose.

If Kevin were present to pour out his undying affection to her, which seemed like a very him thing to do, she really didn't know how she would respond. Too much uncertainty clouded her thoughts. She still wasn't even sure if she liked the idea of someone liking her _that_ much.

However, despite not knowing what she would say, she _had_ liked the feeling that had arisen inside of her when he had invited her out to that concert. Focusing on that sensation, Kate heaved a weighty sigh before turning back to face her teacher. Thankfully, he spoke before she had to search for the right words to say.

"To answer your question, Ms. Marsh… I treat him the way I do because I see a lot of myself in that kid, and I needed someone like me breathing down my neck at that age too. I just didn't know it yet."

"Since you know him so well… when do you think I can expect a… proposition from him?" Kate winced internally at her own words.

 _A second proposition, you mean…_

"A week before he ships out to some god-awful war half way around the world," Mr. Hans responded flatly.

"There's a war? Where?"

"Ms. Marsh, there's always a war on. We just don't call them that anymore. And I'm not saying for a fact that he will run towards one like an idealistic idiot… He doesn't seem _that_ stupid. What I am saying is that he will probably wait until the last possible moment when he suddenly realizes that he's damn near run out of time."

Kate paused before speaking, suddenly seeing her teacher in a different light. "Did she wait for you?"

"You're damn right she waited for me. I still don't know what madness infected the poor woman, but I thank God for it every day. She is certainly happier with me teaching mostly harmless kids photography than running around warzones snapping pictures though."

"I can imagine," Kate responded, smiling. "Mr. Hans, can I ask you something?"

"What, I get a choice now? Go on, spit it out."

"When did you know that Kevin was… interested in me?"

"Day one."

"What? How?"

 _Am I really that blind? Probably…_

"I'm going to let you in on a little secret, Ms. Marsh. Photography isn't just about taking pictures and being pretentious. It's about seeing things that no one else does. It's about _details_. Or at least that's what a sniper buddy of mine used to say… At any rate, it's hard to miss when the boy spends most of the class making eyes at you instead of paying attention. I'm honestly shocked that he managed to get as far as he did today…"

"While he's looking at me… doesn't he still have one ear pointed at you?" Kate couldn't help but giggle at her teacher's reaction.

"Touché, Ms. Marsh, Touché." Mr. Hans spared her a good-humored glare and instead focused his attention to his watch. "I do enjoy our little chats… and you obviously don't have anywhere important to be, but I do, unfortunately. Was there anything else?"

Kate thought hard before answering. She _did_ have a question on the tip of her tongue, but she was afraid of the answer. Internalizing a dramatic sigh, she forced it out.

"What can I do to… help Kevin along with… you know…"

Mr. Hans waved away her pleading look, nodding to show that he understood what she was asking. "You mean aside from asking him yourself?"

Kate nodded.

"Well then… looks like you are going to have to use your feminine charms to get his attention and then give him a one hundred percent, no bullshit, entirely clear message that you are interested."

"How do I do that?" Kate asked, a feeling of hopelessness creeping into her chest.

"Beat him over the damned head with a club or something. Hell, I don't know. This one is for you to figure out."

* * *

Max arrived at the parking lot mere minutes after receiving Chloe's text. Rachel and Chloe were already waiting for her by Chloe's brown pickup truck. The vehicle was rusted and dirty, but Max knew that Chloe saw her vehicle as a sacred treasure all the same. The aging beast was hers after all, even the richer, much more well-off students at Blackwell didn't have their own cars. If rumors were to be believed, Chloe had fixed up the truck herself.

Smiling, Max couldn't help picturing Chloe, covered in grease and muck as she slaved over her new obsession. She could almost hear Chloe's curses of frustration as she tinkered away, could almost hear her cries of triumph when she finally got the once dead beast running.

Max's smile soured. She had missed that moment. That and all the others. She had missed so much of Chloe's life; the time had been stolen from them by fate and circumstance. Rachel hadn't missed it though… What if things had been different? What if Chloe's father hadn't died? What if Max's family hadn't moved to Seattle? What if Rachel Amber wasn't around to be in the way?

Max pushed the dark thought away just as it formed. If Rachel hadn't been there for Chloe, who would have been? Would Chloe have been all alone? Even the darkest parts of Max's mind shuddered at the thought.

 _No, Rachel's not the bad-guy here… I am… she didn't abandon Chloe … I did._

Max winced as the voice inside of her head berated her. She was used to the voice, used to its cruelty, but it was being especially harsh today. Astonishingly, a choir of other voices, eerily similar to the first, rose up against it.

 _I was just a kid, I didn't have a choice!_

 _She's cheating on Chloe! I need to do… something!_

 _I don't have any proof, I need proof!_

 _I… wish I could just rewind time…_

Max sighed, this wasn't the first time in her life she wished that she could so something so fantastical. Life would be so much easier if she could do something like that. No more second guessing, no more 'what if's', no more wondering what she had done wrong…

If she could go back in time… she could set things right… somehow. She could change everything to the way it should be—

 _Stop it!_ Max berated herself, _you're only making this harder on yourself… get a grip!_

Luckily, she was now entirely out of time, her never ending cycle of self-abuse would have to wait. Rachel had spotted her.

"Max! Over here!" Rachel called out. The blonde girl seemed entirely too thrilled for Max's tastes. Rachel _had_ to be up to something. And yet, no matter how hard Max tried to see her as an evil demon, all she saw was a happy, carefree girl who was excited to see her.

Unable to spot Chloe, Max surmised that the blue-haired girl was already inside the truck, ready to set out. Nervousness tore at her as she approached. Slowing her stride, Max wondered if this really was such a good idea. Rachel didn't give her a chance think things through. Before Max could object, she was being ushered into the middle seat of the truck. All of the sudden, Max found herself dangerously close to a very confused and slightly awkward looking Chloe.

"Oh… uh… Hey Max…" Chloe finally managed as Rachel climbed into the now extremely cramped feeling truck. "Rachel… I thought you would have wanted the middle—"

"What? Max is hella' smaller than me! She fits way better! This way everyone is more comfortable, right Max?"

All at once everything felt wrong. Max was mere inches away from Chloe, closer to her than she had been in years. Max's world shrunk, nothing else existed except for the inside of Chloe's truck. Everything else was gone, even Rachel. Worse, it felt like Max's tiny new world was closing in on her. It didn't take Max long to realize that her world was indeed getting smaller. Rachel was quickly making herself comfortable, pushing Max ever closer towards Chloe.

"Max, you okay? You look… pale…" Chloe's stern, yet enchanting face was now all that existed to Max. Words, she needed to say words. Everyone was worrying about her now.

"When is she not pale?" Rachel asked, her teasing laughter echoing throughout the small space. "Relax, Chloe, let's get this show on the road!"

Chloe shot Rachel a quick glare before returning her attention back to Max. A worrying look of overwhelming concern consumed her face. The heartfelt expression sucked the remaining air out of Max's lungs.

"Seriously, Max, what's wrong?"

"Nothing… I'm fine." Max found herself saying, despite having no air inside of her lungs. Or at least, it certainly seemed to be the case.

"You sure?" Chloe asked as the beginnings of a relieved smile graced her lips.

"Yeah, I'm cereal," Max responded, returning the smile. Everything felt better all of the sudden.

"Wait, what did she just say?" Rachel asked, her words riddled with laughter. Chloe joined in. Chloe's laughter wasn't mocking though, not hurtful.

"Holy shit… I can't believe you still say that... same old Max Caulfield, I guess." Chloe's words were almost wistful, coming out as if they were a relieved sigh. The blue-haired girl gave Max an appraising look and a quick nod before turning away. The keys were suddenly in the ignition and everything about Chloe's demeanor changed in a heartbeat.

"Let's blow this shithole!" Chloe cheered as the truck tore out of the parking lot.


End file.
